DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER

Date   : 10/19/2013    Duedate: 11/01/2013

NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA

DM-93    TURN-388

This Weeks Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

HORRIBLE LEARNING
BASH BROS PIKER (1634)
(93-9489) [7-0-0,82]

Chartered Recognition Leader   Unchartered Recognition Leader

POSITION IS EMPTY              HORRIBLE LEARNING
                               BASH BROS PIKER (1634)
                               (93-9489) [7-0-0,82]

Popularity Leader              This Weeks Favorite

MAT TUKHOLT                    FIRST DOWN
MISFITS OF DOOM (1624)         COUNT ON ME (1633)
(93-9438) [4-4-0,33]           (93-9486) [4-3-0,33]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

COUNT ON ME (1633)

          TEAMS ON THE MOVE            TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name                  Point Gain  Chartered Team
1. BASH BROS PIKER (1634)      32
2. MISFITS OF DOOM (1624)      30      ONLY HUMANS (147)
3. HIGH WAY 2 (1637)           24      Unchartered Team
4. GHOSTWALKERS (1630)         12
5. DEVIL'S CARTEL (1631)        0      COUNT ON ME (1633)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record           W   L  K    %  Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns    W  L K
 1/ 2*COUNT ON ME (1633)        23  12  0 65.7   1/ 1*COUNT ON ME (1633)       10  5 0
 2/ 4*HIGH WAY 2 (1637)         11   9  1 55.0   2/ 3*BASH BROS PIKER (1634)    8  7 0
 3/ 3*BASH BROS PIKER (1634)    19  16  0 54.3   3/ 2*HIGH WAY 2 (1637)         7  8 0
 4/ 5*GHOSTWALKERS (1630)        3   6  0 33.3   4/ 0*MISFITS OF DOOM (1624)    3  1 0
 5/ 0*MISFITS OF DOOM (1624)     7  30  0 18.9   5/ 4*GHOSTWALKERS (1630)       3  6 0
 6- 6*DEVIL'S CARTEL (1631)      0   1  0  0.0   6- 6*DEVIL'S CARTEL (1631)     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

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                               STUFF YOU NEED TO KNOW
                                         or
                        WHAT THEY DIDN'T TEACH YOU IN D2 101

a. These are considered the three best ways to acquire information, knowledge and
"secrets" about D2:
    * Terrablood.com
    * Reality.com
    * Noblish Island newsletters
b. Any warrior that loses a fight can die.  One can die by being killed by the
opponent, and every loser has a small chance (estimated odds 1 in 50) of dying in the
infirmary.  Note: There is no chance of dying if one wins!  (There are annual
"Tournaments Of The Dead" where one can attempt to fight a dead warrior back to
life.)
c. Any warrior can use any weapon.  However, there are undefined penalties for using
marginal, unsuited, inadequate wit, inadequate size, inadequate strength, and
inadequate deftness weapons.
d. Warriors are born with certain skills which are dependent on the base 70 point
stat sheet and the style selected.  Skills from the 14 points of added stats add to
those base skills.
e. RSI seldom makes input errors.  I said seldom.  The best thing a manager can do to
help avoid input errors is to fill out the strategy sheet accurately and legibly with
good penmanship.
f. No matter what any veteran, friend or expert tells you about design or strategy,
it is not necessarily the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  It may
be good or great or common advice, but it is not necessarily the only good (or bad)
advice.
g. There is more to strategy than filling out the warrior's initial armor and weapon
selection and offensive effort and activity level and kill desire and tactic
selection.  Challenges and avoids are an important way to attempt to give your
warrior an advantage.  Challenge warriors (warrior ID) that your warrior is likely to
defeat and learn a lot from, and avoid teams (team ID) with warriors who are likely
to defeat you.  Indeed, your warrior can be provided with an alternate strategy for
challenging or when being challenged or both.  A warrior does not have to challenge,
bloodfeud, or avoid, but it is in his best interest to do so.
h. Ask dumb questions!  Often managers, especially new managers, have a doubt or a
question, but they feel "asking for help/advice" is a sign of weakness or lack of
intelligence or knowledge about D2.  Do not let this be you!  Ask!  We veteran
managers ask each other "dumb" questions all the time.  What are the best ways to
ask?
    * On the Reality.com site
    * On the D2 Chatsy blog site
    * In personal ads in the arenas (especially Noblish Island)
    * By diplo to another manager in D2 (Certain managers will almost always respond;
      some may not
i. D2 is a normally a friendly atmosphere.  While managers are very competitive, most
of the vets know each other, see each other at Face-To-Face Tournaments, chat with
each other on line, and even help each other out with advice and ideas.  The fount of
knowledge available now, about D2, was acquired by a collective "working together"
and sharing info.  Be advised that an overly mean, overbearing, threatening, haughty,
unfriendly character/manager is likely to be colluded against and ostracized by D2
regulars.  Smack talk is desirable and a part if the game.  Personal threats, harsh
meanness, or overbearingness is not.
j. Noblish Island is a great learning atmosphere.  What comes after Noblish?  Choose
wisely an arena to next participate in.  (Fast--two week turnaround or slow--four
weeks.)  (Large-- 15+ teams participating, medium-- 8-14ish, small-- 7 or less.)
(Friendly--usually Andorian arenas are up for role-playing and up for helping
newbies, and down on down challenging or taking advantage of newbies; cutthroat--
Darkholm arenas tend to be win-at-all-cost.)  You can participate in as many arenas
as you want.  You can also participate in separate tournaments, held quarterly, which
allow warriors from all arenas to compete with each other for acclaim and prizes.
(These tournaments are Mailers--where anyone can participate by mail--and Face-To-
Face--where one competes face-to-face, round-by-round at a selected site.)
k. While the first team rollup sheet is free, you can have as many as you want for $5
each.  It is not abnormal to select which team of warriors you will design and run.
Indeed, you can design and "roll up all" and choose which, or how many, to play.  You
are not limited to the pleasure of only one team.

Count Number aka Abba Cuss (Consortium affiliated) here.  Contact me for help.  Ask
me dumb questions.  I tutor and coach--all too often for free.

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                        Assur's Guide to High Skill Hybrids

     The last is perhaps the most unclear of the warrior types in terms of getting
them to win.  High Skill Hybrids don't really have a clear path to victory, but
expect to win by virtue of the fact that they have more skills than their opponents.

1) Design
As Hybrids, they want a bit of everything, but their focus is on high skills with a
balance of physicals.  The especially want to make sure they hit major breakpoints
and always want a decent wit to ensure they keep learning skills as fast as their
peers around them.
     17 or 21 wit is highly recommended.  High Will and or Deftness is also nice.  I
recommend not trying this type of hybrid with less than 11 wit or less than 11
deftness (both major skill breakpoints).  Will of 7 or 9 is just fine for endurance
conserving styles.

2) Style Choice
With 21 wit, pretty much any style can attempt to win with skills.  Otherwise, the
following styles are recommended.
     Lungers: The highest skill style, the highest base attack and defense, and the
highest favorite fighting rhythms all make for a very strong style.  When you're
looking for a high skill style, Lungers should always be in the running.  The
downside is that they require lots of endurance to run.
     Wall of Steels: Wall of Steels start with the same initial skill total as a
Lunger, though the distribution is dramatically different.  They also run well with
lower fighting rhythms, so do not need as much endurance as their lunger
counterparts.  Still, it is a good idea to have high endurance for Wall of Steels.
     Parry Lungers: This style falls just short of Lungers and Wall of Steels in the 
traditional power rankings.  But they are definitely on the higher side of of the
skill totals and built correctly can be powerful opponents.
     For both Wall of Steels and Parry Lungers, their reluctance to learn riposte
skills suggests that hybrids of this style either start with some riposte, have a bit
more defensive oomph (parry, carry, and hit points), or are augmented in strategy
with the Riposte Tactic.
     Aimed Blows: (With High Deftness, usually 17 or 21).  Aimed Blows round out the
styles that naturally perform well as high skill hybrids.  Aimed Blows are unique in
that they can do very well with extremely low strength (even 3) or will (7+) and
still have lots of skills.  They do not need the endurance that the other high skill
styles need.  The downside of hybrid ABs is that they can be extremely vulnerable to
death given the way they are typically designed.
     And with 21 wit (or even 17), any of the ten fighting styles can learn fast
enough to outpace opponents in the skill race.  Realize that wit is a high commodity
stat, and many of your opponents may also have 17 or 21 wit, especially teams run by
managers that focus on the tournament game.

3) Weapon Selection
     Weapon selection for high skill hybrids varies by manager and design.  The first
choice will normally be one of the top weapons in the game (SC, BA, BS, LO), but
there are other situations where your warrior may be better with another weapon.
Maybe your warrior likes to run fast (QS, HA, SS).  Maybe your warrior wants a better
riposting weapon (EP).  Maybe you want to strive for Knockdowns (LS).  Perhaps you
want to look for your favorite weapon and get bonus skills that way!
     Almost every weapon has its uses.  I will warn once again that weapons that only
deal crushing damage tend to be underpowered.  They do quite well against Scale Mail,
but otherwise are clearly outclassed by other weapons in the game.  This is built
into the game mechanics.

4) Armor
     You are a hybrid.  You'll want to wear armor.  How much needs to be a balance of
your endurance, carry ability, and your specific warrior's strengths.  More defensive
and you might wear a bit extra armor.  A faster hybrid (like the Lunger) will often
wear a bit less armor.
     Most importantly, unless you're expecting a certain type of fight, DO NOT
OVERENCUMBER YOUR HYBRID!  This is the easiest way to make a hybrid perform poorly as
the overall encumbrance penalties are harsh.

5) Strategy and Tactics
     Option #1: Look for your favorite rhythm.  Warrior naturally fight better when
they are running at or near their favorite rhythm.  You don't know what your favorite
rhythm is initially, but each style has rhythms that are common to the style and each
style as limits on what is possible to get.  It is amazing what some warriors do when
running on their faves.
     Option #2: Run hot (or semi-hot).  Having your warrior going out hot is not a
bad strategy.  There may be better strategies for your hybrid, but at least you'll
know he's going out with the intention to attack.  Bad idea for most hybrids against
pure defensive warriors.
     Option #3: Run defensive minute 1.  This is especially effective for Wall of
Steels, but can be used by any of the style mentioned above.  It also conserve
endurance better than option #2.
     Option #4: Run a riposting strategy.  This is highly dependent on your warrior,
but you don't need a lot of riposte to get the counterstrike.  Generally this is a
moderate type strategy (too low and most warriors won't try to attack, unless those
low numbers happen to be their faves and then all bets are off)

              + ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ The Lighthouse ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +

     "Tinkering strategies?"  Jorja glanced around the common room of the Lighthouse
quickly.  None of her gladiators were near by, but she leaned forward and lowered her
voice anyway.  "The team here doesn't believe I ever do that, and I don't want them
to hear me saying differently, Diaretic.  They'd get expectations, and I don't have
any plan to make life that easy for 'em.  But here's the way I go at it when I'm
feeling generous with my warriors.  Mind you, this is just the way *I* do it, and
there are plenty of other approaches.
     "Say I've got a warrior who's a pure offensive style, which means a basher, a
lunger, or a slasher.  I don't count strikers, as they're versatile and sometimes
unpredictable.  Say I've started him out fast, maybe 8-6-x.  Unless he's fighting
another pure offensive, he should be first off the mark.  So I look for the problem.
If it's a problem with his numbers and style and he should have been some other kind
of fighter, well, too bad, we're both stuck with it.  I can boost his offensive
effort to ten--sometimes it already IS ten, of course, but if it isn't, then that
goes up to the top.  I can drop his activity level, say to four.  I know some people
start their offensive warriors going 10-10-x, but to my mind, this is just asking for
early burnout in a fight.  I've seen that kind of thing--a warrior comes out of the
starting gate like his socks are on fire, and by the MIDDLE, not the end, of the
first minute, he's panting and staggering, and losing.  Sure, some warriors can take
that kind of energy burn, but most can't.
     "So I tinker with his numbers, and it doesn't help, he still gets jumped when he
shouldn't.  The next thing to try is dropping the weight he's carrying.  Maybe I've
got him in some kind of mail, okay, I drop that to leather.  This reduces his
protection against blows from his opponent, of course, but everything's a trade-off.
If he gets out there first and deals a shrewd blow or two, it won't matter; he'll win
before he gets hurt.  If he's already in leather, or if I want to lighten him up
further, I'll drop his backup weapon and give him a lighter one.  Say he's got a
scimitar with a backup same, maybe I'll drop the backup to a shortsword or even a
dagger.  I'll always leave him SOME backup weapon--"
     "He'd have his fists, if you didn't give him a backup weapon, wouldn't he?"
Diaretic asked.
     Jorja shrugged.  "Well... yes, but none of the pure offensives do well with
their fists.  Strikers, maybe, but not bashers, lungers, or slashers.  They can and
will use 'em if they have nothing else, but they won't do well.  And frankly, I
wouldn't even send out an aimed blow, the CLASSIC unarmed style, with nothing but his
fists for backups.  I've seen too many of them 'struck in the arm with the parry'.
It's too risky for a warrior who's already got problems.  Unless, of course..." she
looked suddenly thoughtful, "I'm hoping he'll get killed...."
     Diaretic raised his eyebrows.  "Do you do that much?"
     "Send them out hoping they'll die?"  Jorja shrugged.  "Well, yes and no.  I run
everything, maybe send one warrior in a hundred to the Dark Arena--after he's fought
for a year or two.  There are often warriors that I would LIKE to see die, even
though I hate the hassle of recruiting new ones.  But I've never sent a warrior out
unarmed, unarmored, and with the basic 1-1-1 default strategy.  At least, not
deliberately.  There's a team I have in Murska that was running on maintenance once.
I wasn't paying attention, and no less than THREE new warriors started up there
without strategies--and survived!  They had horrible records by the time one of the
other managers managed to get my attention, 0-19 I think it was, but they survived.
Tough men, and they eventually made it to graduation, once I gave them 'sharp pointy
things' to use on their opponents.  But I don't do that deliberately."  She paused
and signaled for one of the waiters to bring Diaretic a fresh drink.
     "Where was I?  Warriors getting jumped when they shouldn't be, right.  As a last
resort, because I don't really care for tactics, I might give such a warrior
decisiveness in the first minute, also.
     "But if none of this works, if he still gets jumped regularly, then I have to
think about taking a different approach.  Maybe he'd be better off running slowly,
despite his style.  So I put more armor on him, some kind of mail, usually, and I
slow down his first minute, maybe invert it: 4-6-x or 4-8-x or something.  And then
in the second minute pop him up to eight or ten offensive effort, on the idea that
he'll catch the faster offensives when they're tired.  Sometimes it works.
Especially with beginning warriors, winning can often be a game of endurance.  He who
is still standing, wins."
     Diaretic nodded and sipped his drink.  Half-formed ideas of how he might use
these ideas on his own warriors revolved in his mind.  "What about the opposite case,
a defensive warrior who can't last long enough to win as he should?"
     "The total parry who collapses from exhaustion in the second minute?"  Jorja
laughed.  "I've had a few of those over the years.  I call 'em 'the warriors of
exasperation'.  It isn't easy running everything, you know--I end up with some
warriors that not even a mother could love, and with them, I tend to do really dumb
things, just for the heck of it.  The aimed blow with a deftness of three or four,
for instance, or the total parry with no con.
     "But for the, hmm, 'legitimate' cases of warriors running too fast, well, there
are signs as obvious as an offensive getting jumped.  'Fighting to conserve energy',
'straining to hold his weary arms at guard', stuff like that in the fight report is a
sure sign.  You can take two approaches to that, lower the weight they're carrying so
as not to burn their energy that way--lighter armor, lighter weapons.  Or slow 'em
down.  Say I've got a ripper going 6-8-x and stumbling with exhaustion in the second
minute.  I might slow this warrior down to 4-6 and see if that helps.  Heck, I've
even done that with offensives.  Back when I started slashers out going 10-10-x, I'd
get them stumbling with exhaustion and losing because of it in the second or even the
FIRST minute, and I'd slow 'em down.  Activity level comes down first for an
offensive warrior--I think of that as the 'dodging and parrying' number.  Offensive
effort comes down first for the defensives."
     "Hmm."  The younger manager frowned, making a series of linked rings on the
table top with the wet bottom of his glass.  "What about warriors who flail wildly?"
     "I've been told that this is due to lack of attack skills, and unless you're
going to train stats and burn those skills, nothing but time will cure it.  But I've
found that sometimes--not always--lowering kill desire helps.  Drop it to five, say,
if it's higher.  Dropping the offensive effort a notch might help, too.  I think of
'flailing wildly' as 'trying too hard'.  You can never be sure, of course, because
managing gladiators is an art, not a science."  She paused and half stood, looking
toward a center of commotion.  "Do you want Wednesday to get falling down drunk on
the night before the fights?"

           +<]H[>+-----+<]H[+ Question of the Week #8 +]H[>+-----+<]H[>+

Question, turn 417:

All -- Here's last cycle's question that didn't make it in (along with page two of my
personals).  What are the top five weapons to be successful in Advanced? -- Hanibal
Q.O.W.

Answers, turn 418:

Q.O.W. Response -- The top weapons in AD, or even basic DM, are generally agreed upon
to be the SC, LO, BS, and BA.  The scimitar is an all round great weapon.  Seems
easier to crit with, and even against heavy armor, still dishes out a lot of damage.
Because it's a slashing weapon, it seems to pull a lot of critical damage on normal
hits.  The longsword is the second best, though that could be contended, for its one
great ability, the knockdown!  The broadsword is heavy, but it dishes out heavy
abuse, it doesn't break often, and it is pretty good at smashing through parries.
The battle axe is just plain cool, and it is very painful!  After those four, it's
difficult to say which weapon is better.  I like daggers, though shortswords are
strong, and the halberd is really fun if your warrior can throw crits with it. --
Adie

I must have missed the question this is answering, or it was part of an ongoing and
sometimes heated discussion on winning and killing  and aiming locations in Aruak
City.
     Q.O.W. Response -- Other than the obvious ability of aiming at the
chest/abdomen/head to gain death intent statement, I think that it's more difficult
to win when aiming at the body because there are more hit-points there.  This is
especially the case against tough, armored warriors.  Attacking the body with lunging
weapons can get knockdowns, but I think that it's even easier if you aim at the legs.
If you consider protect locations though, maybe the body is better to aim at because
maybe fewer people protect it.
     The limbs, and head especially, have less hit points, so if struck, such a
warrior usually gives up sooner.  Aiming at the head can get quick victories and
death intent statements, but results in more deaths, obviously.  But I think a lot of
people routinely protect the head.  Aiming at the arms allows the defeat of a warrior
when they lose their weapon, or use of their arm, and can't draw a back up. -- Adie
P.S.  I only advocate aiming at the arms and legs in Aruak City.  Elsewhere is a
different story.

Question for turn 418, to be answered next turn:
     New Q.O.W. -- What have people seen in regards to arms that hang useless?  Can
warriors regain the use of them eventually if the fight goes on?  Can they punch or
parry with it, even though they can't draw a back-up? -- Adie

Adie's QoW -- Striking arms can cause an opponent to drop their weapon and
(temporarily) lose the use of the limb.  Striking the legs can increase the chance of
a knockdown.  Striking at head, chest, or abdomen can allow for a kill on the sands.
Chest and abdomen seem to be the locations best protected by armor.  Head can have a
different level of armor protection than the rest of the warrior's body, which can
make things tactically interesting.  From what I've seen, managers usually have their
warriors protect their vital hit locations by default, so to me it makes more sense
to aim at non-vitals. -- Generalissimo Puerco
     Is Generalissimo Puerco psychic?  Tune in next turn and find out!

Hanibal's QoW -- All of the one-handed swords make up the top tier of weapons, with
the axes and spears on the second tier (consider halberd in this group), and all the
bludgeoning weapons (and the greatsword) at the bottom.  Quarterstaves, war hammers,
and mauls are liked by some, and as far as I'm concerned, they can have them.
Unfortunately the quarterstaff recently became tied (with longsword) among my LPs for
most popular favorite weapon.  Also, interestingly, I only have one LP that favors
the scimitar, and it's a total parry! -- Generalissimo Puerco

Hanibal -- Top five weapons?  Hm, scimitar, scimitar, scimitar....  Oh, you mean
DIFFERENT weapons?  A lot depends on the style of the warrior in question and his or
her favorite.  But scimitar is up there near the top of the list for many styles. --
Leeta

The question from turn 418:
     New Q.O.W. -- What have people seen in regards to arms that hang useless?  Can
warriors regain the use of them eventually if the fight goes on?  Can they punch or
parry with it, even though they can't draw a back-up? -- Adie

Answers from turn 419 and 420:

Q.O.W. Answer:  I have had all sorts of s#&amp;t (not sure what word this was
supposed to be) happen regarding arms falling uselessly at their side: some warriors
give up, some continue on, I've even had a warrior lose his use of an arm twice in
one fight (and he still won!!!).  One thing is certain...the weapon in the useless
hand always drops in the sand. -- Dr. Strange

     Refers to last turn's question--
QOW -- Weapons?  We agree that SC seems tops with LO and BS highly desirable.  The
Consortium clan has a great affinity for these also:  BA, DA, QS, SH, WH and GA.  Not
the normal "feelings," but... -- Kennelworth

QOW --  A useless arm is a statement and since it normally comes at the end, it
"seems" to mean something, but it is similar to a dropped weapon. -- Kennelworth

Answer Q.O.W. (arms) -- When arms are struck in combat, I too have seen a variety of
things occur.  I've seen them get hit, forcing a weapon to be dropped, but then a
back up pulled immediately.  I've seen them get hit, drop a weapon, and be too hotly
engaged to pull a new one.  Also, they can hang useless after being struck.  The
weirdest thing I've ever seen is a warrior lose the use of their arm, drop their
weapon, strike with their fists, and then have one of those fists get parried, AND IT
WOULD BE THE ONE THAT WAS USELESS THAT WAS INJURED BY THE PARRY!  Strange eh?  So if
both arms went useless, you could still fight with fists?  Hmm... -- Adie

New question, turn 419:

All -- I recently tried an experiment where I gave a warrior a Primary weapon
(Broadsword) and the same off-hand back-up.  She pulled the back-up when things
slowed down in min. 2.   Does this mean she prefers two weapons or do they always do
that?  If you give a warrior two back-ups will they pull the one they prefer or
whatever you list first? -- Hanibal -- Q.O.W.

Answers, turn 420:

Answer Q.O.W. (backups) -- When things slow down in a fight and neither warrior is
eager to hold the initiative, they will usually pull any off-hand or back up weapon
they have, whether they need it or not.  It has no relation to whether that warrior
prefers to fight with two weapons or not.
     Drawing back-ups also can occur when the fight is intense.  If your weapon
breaks while on the offense, often such a warrior will draw their back up and attempt
a riposte to hold the init.  Also, if you're on the defensive and you attempt to
riposte, but you have a back-up weapon or off-hand weapon to draw, your warrior may
try to pull it. Success is not always guaranteed in either case though since your
warrior may be 'to hotly engaged'.  Even if a defending warrior succeeds, drawing a
weapon after a riposte forces that warrior to give up the init they could have taken.
But if they pull a back-up and THEN riposte, then can take the init.
     If you give a warrior two back-ups, they pull the one listed first, and if it
breaks or is dropped, they'll pull the second.  It is not random. -- Adie

QoW -- If the warrior has a free off-hand, and a backup off-hand weapon, it usually
isn't long before they decide to make use of it.  I'm guessing that OE and
coordination (anonymous source) are factors that affect the likelihood of drawing a
backup in the off-hand.  Wanna Be, manager of A Savage Few here in Aruak, once hosted
a fast draw contest where contestants had to start the fight unarmed but could have
backup weapons.  The all-out offensives would sometimes spend a full minute or more
with their fists before deciding to draw steel.  The defensives would usually draw
something the first chance their opponent would give them. -- Generalissimo Puerco

New question, turn 420:

All -- I was noticing the skill modifiers for low to high size; do these negatives
keep a warrior from being successful at the high end of the game? -- Hanibal --
Q.O.W.

We're now caught up with Aruak City (dm 11) on the Questions of the Week; they are
about to run turn 421 as I write this.  So if Hanibal misses a turn in asking, or the
managers there miss a turn in answering, we'll have to miss a turn in looking over
their shoulders.  Amazing how things follow one another like dominoes falling, isn't
it?  There is NO REASON AT ALL why you here can't pose Questions of the Week of your
own.  Send them as a personal to DM 11, identify yourself as a new manager seeking
enlightenment, and you should get a helpful response. -- Jorja

Note that Hannibal's Questions of the Week stopped some time ago and Aruak City is
now in the 600s.

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                        ---===FREE BLADES REGIONAL NEWS===---

                                     Duelmasters
                                     -----------
 DM   9 ZUKAL (turn 733): ODDLY ELEGANT of DEVIATION (Marma Duke, mgr.)
 DM  12 RIZTAB (turn 735): GHOST of THE UNDEAD (Death Jester, mgr.)
 DM  13 DULLENS (turn 700): TOOTH FOOT of 7TH SANCTUM (Hombre, mgr.)
 DM  15 MALCORN (turn 729): QUASIL of TERMINUS (Carick, mgr.)
 DM  16 WILLAF (turn 731): 56TH AND WABASHA of BLOOD ON THE TRACKS (Howlin' Wolf)
 DM  17 ALJAFIR (turn 722): GABOGOOL of STORMY'S TROOPERS I (Storm Lord, mgr.)
 DM  19 ZUWAYZA (turn 723): NEWT ROCKNE of MAN OR BEAST? (The Dark One, mgr.)
 DM  28 MORYA (turn 364): KOROSHIYA ICHI of LORD OF DISCIPLINE (Longshot, mgr.)
 DM  29 LAPUR (turn 720): HOPE'S END of THE GUILD (Guido, mgr.)
 DM  31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 362): GENERAL PURPOSE of MILITARY MAYHEM (Crip, mgr.)
 DM  32 ARVAT (turn 717): FRANK WHITE of B.I.G. (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
 DM  33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 714): KURELLEU ZIEN of THE SEWING CIRCLE (Jorja, mgr)
 DM  35 MURSKA (turn 706): DIERDRIE of CHILDREN OF LLYR (Jorja, mgr.)
 DM  43 VEASTIAN (turn 664): HALFTIME of EPIC RAP (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
 DM  45 STORMCROWE (turn 339): AURORA MARIE of NORTHERN LIGHTS (Jorja, mgr.)
 DM  47 NORTH FORK (turn 333): CARLA of CHEERS (Otis, mgr.)
 DM  50 SNOWBOUND (turn 320): THE BEATLES of OPEN SESAME (Crip, mgr.)
 DM  56 ROCANIS (turn 596): DROXINE of TREXTRAS (Otto X, mgr.)
 DM  60 ARADI (turn 581): SISTER MOON of DREAMTIME (Hombre, mgr.)
 DM  61 JURINE (turn 563): STORMCROWE PIE of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
 DM  65 DAL SHANG (turn 557): LORAND TEN SORN of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
 DM  73 ERINIKA (turn 269): EDMONDS of GASHOUSE GANG (Crip, mgr.)
 DM  74 DAYLA KIV (turn 518): GEORGE WHALEN of MEDAL OF HONOR (The Anarchist, mgr.)
 DM  75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 513): NAREEN of FALSE OVERTURES (Guido, mgr.)
 DM  78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 504): RIB IAYE of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 621): BILBO BAGGINNI of MIDDLE ITALY (The Dark One, mgr.)

                                      Top Teams
                                      ---------
 DM   9 ZUKAL (turn 733): QUEEN (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
 DM  12 RIZTAB (turn 735): DREAMERS (Sleepy, mgr.)
 DM  13 DULLENS (turn 700): CARDOW HUNTERS (Jorja, mgr.)
 DM  15 MALCORN (turn 729): BLIND MELON (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
 DM  16 WILLAF (turn 731): BLOOD ON THE TRACKS (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
 DM  17 ALJAFIR (turn 722): A UNIT (Padre, mgr.)
 DM  19 ZUWAYZA (turn 723): VISIONS V2 (Tolbin, mgr.)
 DM  28 MORYA (turn 364): POSITION IS EMPTY
 DM  29 LAPUR (turn 720): SHADOWMIST (Tolbin, mgr.)
 DM  31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 362): THE CANUCKS (?, mgr.)
 DM  32 ARVAT (turn 717): B.I.G. (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
 DM  33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 714): OBSIDIAN HALL (Dameon Darkheart, mgr.)
 DM  35 MURSKA (turn 706): SOUND (Trim, mgr.)
 DM  43 VEASTIAN (turn 664): THE FAMILY (Jorja, mgr.)
 DM  45 STORMCROWE (turn 339): SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
 DM  47 NORTH FORK (turn 333): NUKE TEST (Malaquar, mgr.)
 DM  50 SNOWBOUND (turn 320): OPEN SESAME (Crip, mgr.)
 DM  56 ROCANIS (turn 596): MEDAL OF HONOR A11 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
 DM  60 ARADI (turn 581): MEDAL OF HONOR B11 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
 DM  61 JURINE (turn 563): MIDDLE WAY 16 (Jorja, mgr.)
 DM  65 DAL SHANG (turn 557): MEDAL OF HONOR C11 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
 DM  73 ERINIKA (turn 269): GASHOUSE GANG (Crip, mgr.)
 DM  74 DAYLA KIV (turn 518): TOLBINS LADIES (Tolbin, mgr.)
 DM  75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 513): FALSE OVERTURES (Guido, mgr.)
 DM  78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 504): MEDAL OF HONOR Z2 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 621): DIRT DEVILS et al (The Dark One, mgr.)

                                   Recent Graduates
                                  -----------------
 DM  12 RIZTAB (turn 734): MUD MUD FROG of KAOS FROGS (Grimm, mgr.)
                           PROCLUS of DREAMERS (Sleepy, mgr.)
 DM  13 DULLENS (turn 700): TOOTH FOOT of 7TH SANCTUM (Hombre, mgr.)
 DM  15 MALCORN (turn 729): QUASIL of TERMINUS (Carick, mgr.)
 DM  17 ALJAFIR (turn 721): DEBRA ELSITH of MIDDLE WAY (Jorja, mgr.)
 DM  31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 362): GENERAL PURPOSE of MILITARY MAYHEM (Crip, mgr.)
 DM  43 VEASTIAN (turn 663): MARCO THE KNIFE of THE FAMILY (Jorja, mgr.)
 DM  45 STORMCROWE (turn 339): AURORA MARIE of NORTHERN LIGHTS (Jorja, mgr.)
 DM  47 NORTH FORK (turn 333): CARLA of CHEERS (Otis, mgr.)
 DM  61 JURINE (turn 563): STORMCROWE PIE of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
 DM  74 DAYLA KIV (turn 518): GEORGE WHALEN of MEDAL OF HONOR (The Anarchist, mgr.)
                  (turn 517): GEORGE PETERSON of MEDAL OF HONOR (The Anarchist, mgr.)

                                 DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
                             Notes from the arena champ.

     Yes, I have learned poorly.  But apparently I'm good enough to beat a Dwarf.
This time, it doesn't look like us Pikers can stay on the throne UNLESS I win.  That
Indy 500 car is hot on our trails and wants to win it all!  I need to learn skills in
some other areas, though.  Almost 2/3 of my learns are in a single area.  Such is the
way with learning.  You do not have much control over what you learn in a given
fight.  Sometimes you pick up one thing, sometimes another.  Yes, we all have
tendencies for what we are able to pick up, and the style we trained up in has
conditioned us to learn other things.
     The problem is that what our managers would like us to pick up (in order to keep
us winning) isn't always what we see in our fights.  Such is the case with me.  My
manager would love to teach me a thing or two, that is for sure!
     I'll just try and keep on winning.  I certainly have the ability to beat the
NPCs, but that doesn't mean I will!

-- Horrible Learning

                                      SPY REPORT

     Greetings warriors!  It is I, Zontani Sharp Eyes, here to bring report of the 
clash and bustle of the weekly NOBLISH ISLAND games.  FAVE WEAPON caught the eye of 
many in the gladiatorial commission as he skillfully bested INDY 500 and was awarded 
22 points in recognition.  In one of the week's more notable duels, FAVE WEAPON put 
down INDY 500, causing him to lose 20 points of recognition in the process.  Although 
KHALHUMS DWARF made a valiant effort, it did not suffice to topple the reign of 
victorious HORRIBLE LEARNING.  No confirmation, but my sources claim that the top 
team has gained their position using magical aids.  Charmed weapons perhaps?   
     Many and various are the arts of battle.  In NOBLISH ISLAND "art" is a word that 
has long since passed from the language!  NOBLISH ISLAND, city of gladiators!  Mighty 
among the names of thy guilds is BASH BROS PIKER, a guild shunned and avoided by many 
in the weekly duels.  Methinks more than a few here could name the guild it was that 
spent the better part of last week avoiding BASH BROS PIKER.  Indeed it was COUNT ON 
ME.  Mighty fighters cannot but expect competition from those below.  FAVE RHYTHM 
take warning!  You have more than a few enemies in NOBLISH ISLAND.   
     What warrior does not hone his years, impatiently waiting for the moment of his 
foe's mortality?  Fate is a fickle mistress.  She showers the miserable with fortune 
but sets enemies against the victorious.  Remember this!   
     If it were not for my skills as a spy I would have been mugged three times 
already in NOBLISH ISLAND.  Nice atmosphere you have here!  Ahh, but I can hear the 
spires of a far off city calling to me.  I must away!  Till we meet again, remember:  
a turtle walks slow, hides head in a shell, and harms no one; a lion runs to slay its 
prey.-- Zontani Sharp Eyes  

DUELMASTER                     W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 HORRIBLE LEARNING 9489        7   0  0    82       BASH BROS PIKER (1634)

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 FAVE WEAPON 9493              4   3  0    46       BASH BROS PIKER (1634)

CHALLENGER INITIATES           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 MAT TUKHOLT 9438              4   4  0    33       MISFITS OF DOOM (1624)
 FIRST DOWN 9486               4   3  0    33       COUNT ON ME (1633)
 MEOSHA PALMER 9508            4   0  1    28       HIGH WAY 2 (1637)
 FAVE RHYTHM 9491              3   4  0    28       BASH BROS PIKER (1634)
 INDY 500 9485                 5   2  0    24       COUNT ON ME (1633)

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 THIRTY-LOVE 9488              5   2  0    23       COUNT ON ME (1633)
 JACK OF ALL TRADES 9492       3   4  0    21       BASH BROS PIKER (1634)
 STRIKER 9469                  2   0  0    20       GHOSTWALKERS (1630)
 CAMI DEAORDAN 9500            2   0  0    20       MISFITS OF DOOM (1624)
 100 YARD DASH 9484            5   2  0    17       COUNT ON ME (1633)
 3 POINT SHOT 9487             4   3  0    15       COUNT ON ME (1633)
 QUINCY ROSS 9509              2   2  0    14       HIGH WAY 2 (1637)
 KEOSAQUA LANE 9506            2   2  0    14       HIGH WAY 2 (1637)
 SHMEGAL 9499                  1   1  0    12       MISFITS OF DOOM (1624)
 LOW SKILL BASE 9490           2   5  0    11       BASH BROS PIKER (1634)
 SMYTHE TODD 9510              2   2  0     8       HIGH WAY 2 (1637)
 THUMPER 9471                  1   1  0     7       GHOSTWALKERS (1630)
 MILTON ONLY 9507              1   3  0     6       HIGH WAY 2 (1637)
 BRUTE 9473                    0   2  0     2       GHOSTWALKERS (1630)
 SWIFTY 9470                   0   2  0     2       GHOSTWALKERS (1630)
 STARFIRE 9472                 0   1  0     1       GHOSTWALKERS (1630)
-FURY 9478                     0   1  0     1       DEVIL'S CARTEL (1631)

'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.

THE DEAD                W  L K TEAM NAME            SLAIN BY              TURN Revenge?
ZIDRIT DU'ORDEN 9441    0  8 0 MISFITS OF DOOM 1624 BLACK ORC             388  NONE

                                     PERSONAL ADS

Duelmaster Horrible Learning -- Kudos to you and your manager!  King of Noblish
Island, and a piker at that.  All hail Assur, Piker Master. -- Smithy

All right!  New managers and teams!  We are so pleased to have you all here.
Welcome.  Some of us are here to help and mentor.  Ask me (Smithy), Assur, or Jorja
(or all of us) questions.  We will answer.
Ghostwalkers,
Devil's Cartel,
Speed Demons,
Enjoy.
-- Smithy

Assur -- Looks like we had a "kiss your sister" 2-2 round, but you won the big one.
Well done. -- Smithy

Fave Weapon -- It was my day to roar over the finish line. -- Indy 500

Jack Of All Trades -- Let it be known that I hate pikers.  Hate 'em, hate 'em, hate
'em!  I just couldn't make a shot. -- 3 Point Shot

Low Skill Base -- We strikers have some endurance too, you know?  I got you on the
three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust strategy.  Yes! -- First Down

Fave Rhythm -- What?????!  You beat me?  You and your little lob shots and that weird
spin.  Piker! -- Thirty Love

Quincy Ross -- That was more like a marathon, but you could count on me.  Oh yeah. --
100 Tard Dash

The Mail In Tournament is right around the corner.(Nov 1) The Face-To-Face Tournament
is soon (January) to be in Tempe AZ.  Come and meet the managers behind Assur and
Smithy (Consortium).  And the Turf Wars begin in Feb in DM47.  They are all worth the
time and effort and just plain FUN. -- Smithy

100 Yard Dash -- I was amazed at how LONG that took you.  Maybe it should have been
"Hundred Yard Crawl"? -- Quincy Ross

A wimpy standby is good. -- Meosha Palmer

Brute -- You brute!  Um, Jorja suggests that you might try a little less armor.  It's
an unusual load you put on that style.  Yes, I know, the armor did fend off or lessen
some blows, but if it hadn't been so heavy, you might have STRUCK more blows.  Why
Jorja thinks I would consider this a good thing I don't know, but there it is.
Encumbrance makes a difference, and the computer is merciless. -- Milton Only

Thumper -- *I* don't think you need advice, after all, you WON.  But Jorja is, um,
really firm about some things.  And one of the things she's firm about is off-hand
encumbrance for your style.  She's against it. -- Keosaqua Lane

Swifty -- Oh, cheese LOUISE.  There's that off-hand encumbrance again, and you need
to fix that lack with regard to your weapon.  Either train up the relevant stat, if
you have the WL for it, or pick a different, less demanding weapon.  Jorja would be
likely to go with a different weapon, but she has these biases.  (sigh)  Not as
flexible as she used to be, and I do NOT mean something she could fix by working out
in gym.  In fact, the idea of her working out in a gym... I shudder.  She's nasty
enough as it is.  But then, bashers ARE. -- Smythe Todd
P.S.  Try a scimitar.  Sure, Jorja's got a "thing" for 'em, but they ARE good
weapons.

Ghostwalkers / Devil's Cartel -- Welcome to Duel2.  Half of us are here to help you

get started.  I run the Pikers and they are indeed all Parry Strikes.  I do not
challenge or avoid to allow new managers to tinker with strategy.  I will make
challenges if I think I can teach a player something of use. -- Assur

Pikers fight better than their skill ratings would suggest they should!

Abba Cuss -- 2-2, but it felt like 1-3. -- Assur

                                  LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

ZIDRIT DU'ORDEN was butchered by BLACK ORC in a 1 minute Dark Arena fight.
FIRST DOWN bested JACK OF ALL TRADES in a exciting 1 minute Challenge duel.
3 POINT SHOT was viciously subdued by FAVE RHYTHM in a slow 13 minute Challenge match.
HORRIBLE LEARNING viciously subdued KHALHUMS DWARF in a 2 minute gory Title contest.
INDY 500 was overpowered by FAVE WEAPON in a 1 minute mismatched match.
MAT TUKHOLT devastated 100 YARD DASH in a crowd pleasing 1 minute one-sided duel.
THIRTY-LOVE overpowered MILTON ONLY in a 1 minute mismatched brawl.
LOW SKILL BASE was overpowered by MEOSHA PALMER in a 4 minute gruesome uneven melee.
BRUTE was vanquished by SHMEGAL in a 1 minute gruesome one-sided duel.
THUMPER was viciously subdued by CAMI DEAORDAN in a 7 minute brutal novice's fight.
SWIFTY was handily defeated by KEOSAQUA LANE in a 1 minute one-sided bout.
STRIKER demolished SMYTHE TODD in a 1 minute mismatched match.
QUINCY ROSS handily defeated STARFIRE in a 1 minute brutal one-sided contest.

                                    BATTLE REPORT

             MOST POPULAR                        RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS     
|FIGHTING STYLE               FIGHTS        FIGHTING STYLE     W -   L -  K   PERCENT|
|PARRY-STRIKE                     6         LUNGING ATTACK     7 -   2 -  1      78  |
|STRIKING ATTACK                  5         TOTAL PARRY       14 -   6 -  1      70  |
|TOTAL PARRY                      3         STRIKING ATTACK   17 -  13 -  0      57  |
|WALL OF STEEL                    3         PARRY-STRIKE      21 -  19 -  0      53  |
|BASHING ATTACK                   2         WALL OF STEEL     10 -  10 -  0      50  |
|AIMED BLOW                       2         SLASHING ATTACK    4 -   4 -  0      50  |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE                    2         AIMED BLOW         8 -   9 -  0      47  |
|SLASHING ATTACK                  1         BASHING ATTACK    13 -  15 -  1      46  |
|PARRY-LUNGE                      0         PARRY-RIPOSTE      2 -   3 -  0      40  |
|LUNGING ATTACK                   0         PARRY-LUNGE        0 -   0 -  0       0  |

Turn 388 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:

BASHING ATTACK     2 -  0     STRIKING ATTACK    2 -  3         5  PARRY-STRIKE   
PARRY-STRIKE       4 -  2     TOTAL PARRY        1 -  2         2  STRIKING ATTACK
AIMED BLOW         1 -  1     WALL OF STEEL      1 -  2         1  AIMED BLOW     
PARRY-RIPOSTE      1 -  1     PARRY-LUNGE        0 -  0         1  TOTAL PARRY    
                              LUNGING ATTACK     0 -  0         1  BASHING ATTACK 
                              SLASHING ATTACK    0 -  1         1  PARRY-RIPOSTE  

                               TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
PARRY-STRIKE     HORRIBLE LEARNING 9489      7   0  0   82 BASH BROS PIKER (1634)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.

The overall popularity leader is MAT TUKHOLT 9438.  The most popular warrior this 
turn was FIRST DOWN 9486.  The ten other most popular fighters were HORRIBLE LEARNING 
9489, MAT TUKHOLT 9438, MEOSHA PALMER 9508, FAVE RHYTHM 9491, THIRTY-LOVE 9488, 
SHMEGAL 9499, FAVE WEAPON 9493, KEOSAQUA LANE 9506, STRIKER 9469, and QUINCY ROSS 
9509.

The least popular fighter this week was 3 POINT SHOT 9487.  The other ten least 
popular fighters were LOW SKILL BASE 9490, STARFIRE 9472, SWIFTY 9470, BRUTE 9473, 
MILTON ONLY 9507, 100 YARD DASH 9484, ZIDRIT DU'ORDEN 9441, SMYTHE TODD 9510, CAMI 
DEAORDAN 9500, and THUMPER 9471.

                 FACE-TO-FACE TOURNEY LIII

                                The Defensive Lunger

  Perfect   Minimums     Actual Characters
ST   13        11             11   13
CN    7         3              3   11
SZ    4         4             10    6
WT   21        17             17   17
WL   17        13             17   19
SP    5         5              9    5
DF   17        13             17   13

     The lunger, in my opinion, makes a much better defensive fighter than offensive 
fighter.  Fighting defensively will compensate for the speed at which lungers burn 
endurance.  They will still attack whenever possible but their defensive ability will 
allow them to dodge most attacks.  The most important part is their initiative.  When 
they do dodge, they'll usually steal the initiative and attack.  I haven't been 
fighting lungers defensively for long but my record is 14-5-0.  Don't fight 
defensively against other lungers as they will usually win.

     The strategy I use is:
Min  1    2    3    4    5    6   Desp
Off  4 ------------------------->  9         Weapon:  Any lunging
Act  6    4 -------------------->  9         No armor if low con
KD   4 ------------------------->  9         APL/H if average con
O.T. --------------------------->  L
D.T. -------------------------------->

     You can attack any location you wish but I suggest protecting the body.  The 
third character listed started with experts in attack, defense and initiative.  The 
last character had an expert in attack.

The Wild Boar, manager of Things (5) and many inactive teams.

                                  WARRIOR ENDURANCE

     Greetings, joy and happiness to everyone!  I hope you have had pleasant dueling.  
This article is about endurance and some things to think about when you're designing 
your warriors.  Below is a chart showing the different endurance levels a warrior may 
have.  This chart may be a little off of due to the fact it isn't possible to have all 
the variables as a manager, but it does give you idea of the amount of endurance a 
warrior should have.

The formula for endurance is: E = (ST+CN)WL

With the result of that number use the chart below.

000-180 = Very Poor
181-240 = Poor
235-390 = Normal
391-509 = Good
510-639 = Great
640-699 = Tremendous
770+    = Awesome

Here are some examples of warriors with their Endurance ratings:

1) Slasher      ST  5  CN  7  WL 15     (5+7)15   = 180	 Poor
2) Striker	ST  7  CN 13  WL  9	(7+13)9   = 180	 Poor
3) Parry-Rip	ST  7  CN 10  WL 11	(7+10)11  = 187	 Poor
4) Basher	ST 13  CN  9  WL  9	(13+9)9   = 198	 Very Poor
5) Striker	ST 13  CN  9  WL  9	(13+9)9   = 198	 Poor
6) Aimed-Blow	ST  9  CN 15  WL  9	(9+15)9   = 216	 Normal
7) Striker	ST 10  CN  5  WL 15	(10+5)15  = 225	 Normal
8) Slasher	ST 13  CN 10  WL 10     (13+10)10 = 230	 Normal
9) Wall/Steel	ST 13  CN 12  WL 17     (13+12)17 = 425	 Great

     There are several factors such as warrior style, RSI random factor, and there is 
some evidence that SIZE has some effect on a warrior's endurance.  In any case the RSI 
LUCK factor can be around 7 to 8% in your favor or 2-3% worse than average.  These are 
just estimates, but are still factors nevertheless.
     Some styles that are HIGH BURN endurance, like lungers, slashers and walls of 
steel, are more likely to be UNLUCKY with the endurance rating.
     Every action your warrior does consumes endurance.  Attacking seems to use more 
endurance than any other action.  Once a warrior's endurance is used up, he will make 
an endurance check against his WILL. If he fails the roll, he will either stop to rest 
or collapse to the sand, depending on how badly he failed the roll.  When a warrior 
stops to rest, he gets back some endurance.  When he gets enough endurance back, he 
will start attacking again.  This is just a theory that I have developed from 
observations.  It maybe completely off, but it gives one something to ponder.
     That's it for now lords and ladies, I must go entertain elsewhere.  If you would 
like to chat about DM or other things, you can EMAIL me at 103260.3347@compuserve.com 
or visit my DM website at 
http://ourworld.compuserve.com./homepages/jessisjest/homepage.htm 
     You can also diplo me at DM 11 "The Lords Of the Abyss (319)" or any of the 
Joker's Wilds scattered about.

                                                       Cheerio,
                                                       Sir Jessie Jest
                                                       Member of the Ivory League

                     Presenting, by Popular Demand (from 1989)...

                            THE NUMEROLOGY OF DUELMASTERS
                                by The Ghost of Eldrid

                                 Character Generation

     Hello, I am the Ghost of Eldrid, and I have an important message that directly 
effects how well your team may do in the future.  Some managers will not take this 
important article seriously (some people don't believe in ghosts, either), and their 
records will suffer for it.  I have played Duelmasters for four years and searched 
through all of my old turns and painstakingly researched every important fact in this 
article, and I have discussed my conclusions with about ten different managers (named 
managers such as Phido, Doctor LeGrand, Silk, Russ, and Biff Frothingslosh) who all 
agree on the validity of my arguments.  The results of my research are both startling 
and magnificent.  THERE IS NUMEROLOGY IN DUELMASTERS!!!  Whether it was programmed in 
or it exists on a higher plane, it matters not.  IT EXISTS!!!  And I plan to share 
some of its amazing secrets with you, starting with character creation.
     Remember in the realm of character generation the powers favor odd number stats.  
NEVER, EVER have an even number on stats, except, of course, for size, which, 
obviously should be even since everyone can tell what size your character is by his 
description in the fight.  Do you want people thinking your warrior is odd?  I should 
hope not!!  But in case you decide to keep your odd warrior, DO NOT MAKE ANY OTHER 
STATS EVEN!!  Write a letter to the commission stating that you forgo the rights to 
the last point and you want it to be sacrificed to the benefit of Alastari.
     Always start adding points to wit and will first.  Either make them 13, 17, or 
21.  Why?  Under 12 wit is worthless, as any good manager will tell you.  A 13 
understandably gives your opponent bad luck, a 17 has the ever-lucky "7" in it, and 21 
is BLACKJACK, and you get twice the number of winnings you would normally get.  Why 
not 15 or 19?   Is it not obvious to everyone that 15 is unlucky?  The only President 
of the United States not married was the 15th, James Buchanan (who?).  Lincoln was 
shot on April 15th, and the clincher... my brother was born on the 15th of May.  If 
these "coincidences" don't prove to you that 15 is unlucky, I don't know what will.  
19 is an evil number.  It tries to deceive you into thinking it is better than 17, but 
actually, it is an "11" with a small zero placed on the second pole, and we all know 
that a zero is nothing.  So what do we get for our extra eight points?  In effect, 
something smaller than nothing.
     Next, make every other stat odd.  Add the other points to make the style you 
want.  Deftness is the key to character generation.
     Deftness (min)
          5 to make a basher (ST 13+)
          7 for a lunger
          9 for a striker
          11 for a wall of steel (ST 11+, WL 17+)
          13 for a parry lunge (ST 11+), slasher (SP 11+), parry-strike, and total 
                    parries (these styles depend on the opponent's bad luck.
          17 for a parry-riposte (WT 17+)
          21 for an aimed blow (this style needs the double winnings)

     The last thing to remember is that luck is a big factor in this game and I don't 
know if you noticed, but when warriors have even ID numbers they are luckier than odd 
ID characters.  Look at the best warriors in Primus: Wallbanger, Donatello, Epitaph, 
Chaos Knight, Villiage Idiot, Silverflash, Khorga Khan, Jake the Snake, Sly, Max, 
Stormbringer, Teetotaler, Raphael, Selleque, Kiri, Constance, Hangover, Eve, and Sam 
Spade.  All have even-numbered IDs.  Now you say, "But Yoda and Necron-99 both have 
odd IDs, and they are the best aimed blows of the game!"  Yes, but they are AIMED 
BLOWS and they are members of an odd style, so of course they do better with odd 
numbers.  So remember if you want your warriors to be best in all Alastari someday, 
Dark Arena all your odd-numbered characters, unless of course they are aimed blows.  
Good luck, and may the numbers fall your way.

                                        -- The Ghost of Eldrid,
                                             retired

                           PARRY-STRIKE, ANOTHER FUN STYLE

     There have been several articles about fighting styles, some say theirs is the 
best, or ultimate, one said theirs is the most fun style.  Well, I feel that parry-
strikers are just as much fun to play as any other style.
     First, let's start with the run down of what they say in the "RED BOOK".  The 
book says that parry-strikers are defensive, using small quick movements in their 
actions (sounds like you could say that about some other styles as well.)  The book 
says that some managers swear that a high wit is critical to the style (only those who 
have no brains would disagree with that.)
     Let's get to business.  First and foremost this style is deceptively aggressive, 
making them a very good offensive type of fighter, or deadly type of defensive 
fighter.  Offensively they tend to get the jump on their opponent.  I had a parry-
striker that was only jumped 3 out of 11 fights, before he died.  To prepare and run a 
parry-striker can be quite confusing, so I will try to help make it as simple as 
possible.  Here are my feelings on roll-ups for the parry-strike style:

     ST:  11-15, I'll explain later.
     CN:  who cares.
     SZ:  10-14, don't go over 14.
     WT:  13-17, 17 is the best.
     WL:  13-17, to get good endurance.
     SP:  not important.
     DF:  11-15, I'll explain later.

     Here are some good roll-ups for a parry-striker:  11,7,10,17,17,7,15; 
15,7,11,17,16,7,11; 11,7,14,17,13,7,15; 15,7,14,17,13,7,11.  Now, if you have a decent 
wit, the way you run this fighting style will depend on strength and deftness.  For 
example: if your fighter has a high DF and a low ST it would be to his/her advantage 
to be defensive, since the speed would benefit the ability to move in reaction to 
their opponent.  If the ST is high, and DF low, it would be better to fight 
offensively like a striker, trying to get the first, and only blow in.  If they don't 
have a decent wit, you're on your own.  I can't help you on that.  Remember this style 
of fighting is the same as a striker except for added knowledge of parrying, as well 
as bein a little more aggressive.  I would not suggest a low ST and DF, it will take 
away from your WT & WL, and you don't want to do that, but if you do, good luck.  You 
don't need much CN if you have a good WL, which gives you your endurance.  SZ; you 
don't want it to be above 14, it would hurt your fighting style more than your 
attributes.  WT; it is the same as it is with strikers, the higher the WT the faster 
and deadlier they become.  Raise WT to 17 if you don't have it at the start, then 
don't worry about it again until ADM.  WL; this is where you get your endurance.  13 
is fine to start out, but I would suggest 15, then bump it up to 17 in basic.  SP; it 
is what you need to riposte, but PSers have this "one strike one kill" attitude.  
Meaning that there isn't much time to riposte with a killing attitude, so do whatever.  
DF; what is there to say, it helps, but is not crucial to be a great PSer.  Now to 
running a PSer.  If he is an offensive fighter 10-10-10 Dec. all the way through the 
fight, even in desperation.  If Defensive, 1st 10-10-10 Resp., 2nd 10-7-10 Dec., 3rd 
10-10-10, 4th 10-10-10 Dec., 5th 10-10-10 Dec., 6th 10-10-10, Desp. 10-10-10 Resp.  
Remember, first you want to assure your defense, and to do that, you should go 
defensive the first minute.  By the second minute you will be secure enough to go on 
the offensive, but experiment.  6th minute on, leave blank, for by that time he/she 
will know what to do (if their WT is high that is.)  The best thing you could do for 
your fighter is watch the fights, if you are getting more defensive skills than 
offensive, run the def., or change weapons.  That is the best advice I can give you 
about PSers.  About armor, I like to use ringmail or nothing, but experiment.  I know 
that there is someone that will disagree with me, but I feel that I have given you 
some ideas about this fighting style that can be used, even though I am a new manager, 
playing for just over a year.  No matter who writes a style article, it is just 
advice, not the bible.  Just use the articles as a point of reference, not as sworn 
law.
     This is a very fun fighting style, try it out.  I have written this in answer to 
Foreign Legion Arena 31, and The Spartans Arena 8.  I challenge any Primus Manager to 
correct my writing of PSers.  It is not my favorite style, but it is as fun as any 
other that I have used, including my favorite one (Which is a STRIKER!!)  If there are 
any comments, please Diplo The Priest, the manager of The Heroes of XIAN DM-10, or The 
Crucifiers DM-46.

                            THE ARMOR PIERCING PARRY-LUNGE

     When you think "attack" what style comes to mind?  Bashing?  Definitely lunging?  
Of course.  Parry-Lunging?  Excuse me?  Yes, the parry-lunger!  Few people realize the 
fact that parry-lungers are attack gods waiting to be born.  All it takes is the right 
warrior and lots of guts.  This warrior is not for the weak of heart.  We'll begin 
with stats.

     Range               Perfect
     ST  9-11                  11
     CN  5-9                    5
     SZ  6-11                   8
     WT 17or21                 21
     WL 17or21                 17
     SP  5-8                    5
     DF 15-17                  17

     Why?
     ST(11):  This is your optimum PL strength.  It puts your warrior in the normal to 
good damage range.  Also, you have the best PL weapon at your disposal--the LO!
     CN(5):  Yes, his life expectancy is low.  What'd I tell you?  Guts, right?  He 
gets his endurance from WL.  If you want to make trains, make them here.
     SZ(8):  Our most flexible stat.  A high SZ (i.e.11) allows you to skimp a bit on 
Str (9).
     WT(21):  If it's not a 21 you're not going to get the attack this fellow counts 
on.  His learns will be awesome and a 21 WT will make him a better warrior out of the 
chocks.
     WL(17):  End/Att are dependent on this one being high.  Keeps you on your feet 
when you should drop from exhaustion.
     SP(5):  Not a big requirement.  Init and Parry will come from elsewhere (WT/DF).  
This is not a lunger mimic.
     DF(17):  Combine this DF with a 21 WT and you will have a massive attack.  
Pinpoint accuracy is the byword.  Parry, init, def and riposte will all benefit 
immeasurably.  At 15 you have access to the EP, a fine lunging weapon this style can 
put to devastating use.

     Strategy (General, but effective in most cases)
          2    9    9    7    6    5    10
          6    9    9    7    6    5    10
          2    7    7    7    5    5    10
          HE ---------------------------->
          HE   BD ----------------------->
          -    -    -    -    -    -    -
          P    -    -    -    -    -    -

     Minute 1:  This fellow won't get the jump on offensives, so we'll just go 
defensive and render their "mad minute" fruitless.  This PL's counterattack will be 
amazing at even 2-6-2 P due to the high AL.  Keep the parry tactic until Adv Expert 
parry is gained.
     Minutes 2 and 3:  These two will end most of his fights.  When he starts landing 
precision blows in his opponent's face it will usually be over quickly.  Keep the kill 
desire relatively low as to avoid sloppy attacking.
     Minutes 4 through 6:  If you haven't won by now you've got to depend on your WL 
to carry you until you finish the job.  He'll probably top out at the five min. mark.  
But we want to keep the attacks coming so we do so at his endurance's expense.
     Desp:  If your opponent is an offensive he's probably blasted through your min. 1 
defense.  Your best bet is to go spastic and hope to take him out in one shot or so.  
If he's some super-defensive (scum) this PL is probably exhausted and you're hoping 
the super-offense will put him over the edge.  After all, it's better to burn out than 
fade away.
     Always aim for the head to maximize the impact of your blows.  If it tickles your 
fancy, aim for your opponent's weapon arm and beat him senseless when he's unarmed.  
Protecting the head in min. 1 is strictly odds playing on my part.  My offensives aim 
head so I assume everyone else's do too.  After min. 1, we forget defense.
     Weapons and armor are simple.  APL/H or ARM/H (if you're challenging a real 
heavy-hitter).  I prefer swords for armament.  My combos are usually LO/SM, LO/SH, 
SC/DA etc.  Against heavy armor go with LO/SH.  Always aim for the head.
     Philosophy:  This guy clings to life by luck, early on, and will never be free of 
the spectre of death.  In his first few fights stay away from lungers and bashers.  
Both have high attacks and usually do substantial damage.  Prey on strikers, PS, PR 
and slashers.  As he progresses, his attack, parry and defense will equip him with the 
tools to handle most everybody but always remain cautious of those bashers and 
lungers.
     A PL of this calibre should begin with around a 90 att, 70 par/init and 60-70 
def.  Decise and riposte will be slightly lower.  Riposte 50 and decise anywhere from 
35-50 depending on how lucky you get.  Train skills exclusively from fight one and on.  
Use tourneys if you must raise anything at all (including con).
     Don't be discouraged if he's around .500 early on.  By ten fights he'll be 
sporting three Adv Experts at least (att, par and init) and will begin to dismantle 
those scum/finesse styles that managed to beat him.  Feel free to write or diplo me 
with comments/criticisms/or questions.

                                             Fight the Good Fight,
     or:                                          Agath
          CPL Michael Dockus                      Lunatic Fringe (23)
          H Co BLT 2/8                            Circle of Five (51)
          24 MEU (Det F)                          Slaves of Power (52)
          FPO NY NY 09502-8531