DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 01/11/2014 Duedate: 01/24/2014
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-394
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
SMYTHE TODD
HIGH WAY 2 (1637)
(93-9510) [6-4-0,48]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
SMYTHE TODD POSITION IS EMPTY
HIGH WAY 2 (1637)
(93-9510) [6-4-0,48]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
MILTON ONLY MILTON ONLY
HIGH WAY 2 (1637) HIGH WAY 2 (1637)
(93-9507) [2-8-0,14] (93-9507) [2-8-0,14]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
HIGH WAY 2 (1637)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. OLD EL PASO (1641) 37
2. BASH BROS WASTE (1640) 23 HIGH WAY 2 (1637)
3. HIGH WAY 2 (1637) 17 Unchartered Team
4. GHOSTWALKERS (1630) 4
OLD EL PASO (1641)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 3*OLD EL PASO (1641) 9 6 0 60.0 1/ 1 HIGH WAY 2 (1637) 10 5 0
2/ 1 HIGH WAY 2 (1637) 27 23 1 54.0 2/ 3*OLD EL PASO (1641) 9 6 0
3/ 2*BASH BROS WASTE (1640) 7 8 0 46.7 3/ 4*BASH BROS WASTE (1640) 7 8 0
4/ 4*GHOSTWALKERS (1630) 12 20 3 37.5 4/ 5*GHOSTWALKERS (1630) 2 9 0
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
CONSORTIUM SECRETS
Or
Consortium Information Collection Unveiled
Once upon a time there was a long-time manager who decided to collect a lot of
valuable information, in irregular small print form, on only three pages of 8.5x11.
That manager, or group of managers, use said data information when:
1. The internet is down and the Terrablood/RSI sites are unavailable
2. Traveling around the world and "working D2 strategies" in unusual places
3. Quick information is needed
4. They feel like it
The information is not necessarily the prettiest, but it can be quite invaluable to
D2ers especially D2ers without internet accessibility. Copies of that information
are now available for Noblish Island managers. Contact the RSI office to request it
by mail or, perhaps, Jorja, the Noblish Island coordinator, or The Noblish Island
Consortium representative can help you out.
Most of the information on the data sheets is self-explanatory. Some will
require explanation. Most has been gathered from various sources over time in the
old DM community. Much of it has been gathered empirically. (Meaning that the
information is not programming code, or from the designers, but rather gathered by
users and players of the game.) The information may not always be "perfect", but it
is widely used in this or similar fashion.
I will explain the information by placing it into two categories--
straightforward, and intricate. First let's cover what is in the first category.
The following charts/info fit the straightforward category. Some include simple
calculations.
1. WEAPON SUITABILITY -- shows which weapons are suited, marginal, or unsuited to a
style.
2. WEAPON REQUIREMENTS -- indicates the ST, SZ, WT, DF limitations for a weapon. It
also covers the weapon weight, the armor it is best used against, and whether it
is a slash, bash, lunge weapon.
3. INTELLIGENCE -- defines the WT needed for each rating.
4. DAMAGE -- reveals the approximate damage rating one should expect for all ST/SZ
combinations. Note: a luck roll factor can both hose and bless damage rating.
5. ENCUMBRANCE -- a table which shows what level of "carry" (encumbrance rating) one
should expect at all SZ/CN combinations.
6. HEIGHT -- a simple conversion between the SZ number and ft/in.
7. COORDINATION -- which is defined as SP + DF; the chart provides a summary of each
coordination rating and the "points" range for each
8. ENDURANCE -- most still use this calculation, although a "luck roll factor" can
alter the results slightly. The endurance rating which is WL x (ST+CN) is
defined for each rating.
9. HIT POINTS -- sometimes called "damage taking" is broken down in this chart. The
HP is defined as 3.75CN + 1.1SZ + 0.4 WL. The rating levels are defined by
"points."
And now for the more difficult to explain charts which interact with each other.
The three intricate charts are:
1. BAGMAN2 SKILL CHART -- this chart explains how many and what skills are added to
the warrior base for each stat point. (All stats add skills at certain levels
except CN.)
2. STYLE SKILL MODIFIER -- indicates the modification, by style, of skills per type.
This occurs "at birth" of the warrior.
3. HIGH WIT STATEMENTS -- a chart of phrases which indicate, at birth, the skill
level, by skill type, of your warrior. Note: there is a Low Wit Statement chart
for warriors with less that 8 WT, but it is very inaccurate (minimal empirical
data) and seldom used. It is not included in this collection of charts.
These three charts work together to help a warrior determine his anticipated starting
skills. They also define at which skill levels, per stat, that skills are added
during the warrior's development. Note: Depending on the warrior's style, it is
possible to be blessed or hosed by up to 4 skills by the "luck of the roll." The
other thing to remember is that an ambidextrous warrior gets one attack skill added
to his base at birth.
These intricate three charts, and the interaction between them, can seem quite
complicated. After a certain amount of trial-and-error, and/or by absorbing enough
advice, a manager finally "gets it." Use them well.
DETAILS OF USING THE CIC
What can you do with the Consortium Information Collection (CIC)? How does one use
all that info? (Noblish Island managers can contact RSI for a copy.)
You can use the information to:
1. Predict what your designed warrior is going to look like. (Indeed, you can use
the info to "try out" several design ideas, before you choose your final design.
2. Review the overview of the warrior you received to see if he/she is bonused /
hosed.
3. Help keep track of the warrior's skills, including those earned from certain stat
raises.
4. Determine advantageous and usable weapons and armor for certain situations.
One note: Use of this information can be meticulous, detailed and exasperating at
first. It will take practice. So let's examine the CIC in detail.
1. ***DAMAGE CHART*** This chart shows you the range of expected damage doing your
character will yield. For example, a SZ16, 10ST warrior yields "-R+", meaning
great damage is typical, but lower and higher are not uncommon. Damage doing is
dependent on SZ, ST, and luck of the roll. If a warrior is much below, or much
above, the chart predictions, he is "hosed" or "blessed." This chart is more of
generic reference than most of the other information.
2. *** HIT POINTS*** HP is calculated as (3.75xCN)+(1.1xSZ)+(0.4xWL) . This chart
shows the HP needed for each rating. For example, an 11-10-8-15-17-12-11
warrior would have(3.75x10)+(1.1X8)+(0.4x17)=53.10HP and his "hit point rating"
would be "cannot lot", meaning cannot take a lot of damage. One raise of CN
elevates him to 56.85 and "normal HP."
3. ***ENDURANCE*** By this chart's definition, endurance equals (WL)x(ST+CN) Using
the warrior mentioned above, endurance is (17)x(11+10) = 357. Based on the
chart, this warrior should have "normal endurance. It is possible to be
hosed/blessed in endurance, which would be the case if this warrior did not have
normal. Note: On a warrior profile sheet, the lack of any comment about
endurance, means the warrior has normal.
4. ***COORDINATION*** Coordination is merely SP + CN. There is no hosing or
blessing. The warrior listed above has 12+11 = 23 or normal coordination.
5. ***ENCUMBRANCE*** is often called "carry." Carry is a non-hosed/blessed
attribute dependent on ST and CN and it indicates how much weight a warrior can
carry without penalizing the endurance. Checking the chart for the above listed
warrior shows 11ST/10CN yields "B" carry, or "cannot carry a lot of weight."
Each level of carry adds 9 points of weight that can be carried. A = 9; B = 18;
C = 27, etc. Items to be carried are armor, helm, and weapon/shields. Check
the WEAPON REQUIREMENT chart to see the weights of weapons and armor. As an
example, a warrior wearing ASM/H, and carrying BS/ME and a backup SH, has the
following weights of 8 + 3 + 4 + 4 + 2 = 19. That amount of carry is more than
the 18 indicated for "B carry", hence, the warrior out much quicker than normal.
6. ***HEIGHT*** this is a simple conversion chart showing what heights equate to
what SZ. While the warrior fight summary may list the warrior in ft-in, the D2
program really runs using the SZ number. Size may limit weapons or shields that
may be used without penalty, and as seen above, it impacts certain other
characteristics.
7. ***INTELLIGENCE*** This chart indicates the intelligence statement you will
receive at each numeric WT. In general, only the numeric value is of importance.
8. ***STYLE SUITABILITY*** This is a chart which summarizes which weapons/shields
are suitable, marginal, or unsuitable for which styles.
9. ***WEAPON REQUIREMENTS*** This chart only refers to primary-hand weapons, and it
is a terrific summary of weapon requirement and impact. This chart reveals all
of the following and more:
a. weapon weights
b. ST requirements for a weapon
c. SZ limitations for a weapon
d. WT requirements for all weapons
e. DF requirements for a weapon
f. Weapon impact vs. armor type
g. Kill "ratings" for weapons (Take this rating with a "grain of salt" as it is
not really supported by empirical results, and it appears to say heavy
weapons kill better.)
h. Whether the weapon is a slash, bash, or lunge type weapon.
10. ***BAGMAN 2 SKILL CHART AND STYLE MODIFIERS*** This chart is a doozy! It took
years of data and development, and has become a highly important tool in D2. The
SKILL CHART explains what skills are earned at each stat level. For example: at
5 WL the warrior gets 1 each Attack, Parry, Defense, and Decisiveness skill; at 6
WL, no more skills are earned; but bumping the 7WL again adds one each of those
same four. Note also that SZ does impact skills. A SZ3 warrior gets two each
defense and parry skills and loses two initiative, while a SZ21 earns 4
initiative but loses four each defense and parry. This chart is prepared in an
accumulative fashion, showing the total skills at each stat.
Coupled with that chart the STYLE MODIFIER chart shows the "at birth" style
of modifications. (All negative or zero. Each style starts with a different
base of skills. Let's take our previously mentioned 11-10-8-15-17- 12-11 warrior
for example, and let's say he is a slasher The skill chart shows 2 each attack
and parry skills at 11 ST; no skills for CN and no skills for SZ; at 15WT 9
initiative, 3 riposte, 7 attack, 7 defense, and 2 decisiveness; 4 each attack,
parry and defense plus 5 decise at 17WL; 3 init, 4 riposte, 2 defense, and 5
decise at 12SP; and at 11DF there are 3 Init, 4 Riposte, and 5 each attack, parry
and defense skills. Add those all together to get a 15Init-11Rip-18Att-11Par
-18Def-12Dec total of skills for that design. Now you must apply the style
modifier chart, and a slasher has as follows: -2 Init, -4Rip, -8Att, -10Par,
-12Def, -2Dec. Putting them both together yields a slasher who should expect
starting skills of 13 Init, 7 Rip, 10 Att, 1 Par, 6 Def, and 11 Dec.
11. ***HIGH WIT STATEMENTS*** These statements apply to those warriors with 8+ WT.
(There are also Low Wit Statements, but that information summary is inaccurate
due to lack of input data.) This list indicates what "statements" should appear
on your "warrior profile" for each of Initiative, Riposte, Attack, Parry, and
Defense per each level of wit. Using our warrior above, as stated, he is
expected to start with 13 Initiative skills. He has 15 WT. Examining the chart,
under Initiative and across from 15 WT (which also applies for 16WT, since the
next listed level is 17), the left side (high order) is for 13+base init skills,
and the right side (low order 10-12 base init). We determined that he should
start with 13, so we should expect the statement "Nothing short of genius...."
If we do get this statement as expected, we DO have 13+ Initiative skills. (13
min) Hence, we could be bonused with skills above 13. We would know if we were
bonused 3 Init skills, as we would start with an expert in Initiative. However,
if, indeed, we received the other statement "With a very aggressive...", we would
know we started with 10-12 Initiative skills, and were hence hosed 1 to 3
initiative skills.
Let's try one more example -- for Riposte. Our skill evaluations showed him
to have 7 skills. Looking at the HIGH WIT chart at 15WT, he has fewer skills
than the low order amount of 10-12, so he should expect no riposte statement. If
he did get the low order statement, then he truly has at least 10 riposte skills,
so he is bonused +3 or +4 (4 is max skill hose or bonus.) Evaluating the high
wit statements of all five skill areas (There is none for decisiveness.) will
lead to a true and actual understanding of the starting skill set of any warrior.
***** Brought to you by CONSORTIUM affiliates everywhere. *****
* }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ *
This was a dm column from another arena a while back, and it seems useful to include
it here.
Well, that was a little different. Walked out onto the sands to face my
opponent only to find this large wooden box sitting in the center of the arena.
There was a large crank arm protruding out of one side, with a note attached. "Turn
me," is all that was written on the note. Fortunately, this was not the first time
for one of us to come upon this thing. Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us twice...
I proceeded to walk around the box, looking it over carefully. As I started
around the second time I slipped my narrow-bladed weapon through a seam in the wood
and sank it to the hilt. I repeated this three more times, when suddenly the top
sprang open. Tied to the end of a short spear was this bloodied white rag being
frantically waved about.
My second attempt at defending the throne was a success. With that win came an
additional bonus: my invite. (Or eviction notice, depending on your point of view.)
But anyway here're some numbers to ponder: 11(2)-7-10-15-21-9-13 SL. Rolled out
doing normal damage. Achieved good after second ST train, which was just a couple
turns ago. I have a Master rating in attack, and AdEx ratings in initiative,
defense, and decise. A 15-wit slasher with a defensive rating? Yep, you guessed it.
Favorite learn is defense. Favorite weapon? Epee. Was afraid it was going to be
the "not-so-great axe." Got a rhythm of H/VL and apparently have an innate ability
to use the slash tactic to good effect. Hmmm... never tried it.
With a 15WT I wasn't really what most would consider tourney worthy, but was
sent to several to pick up extra skills. So invite arrived at 17pps, 14 wins, 36FE
and 121 total skills. Bonused +4 def and +4 dec.
Well, that's about it, but since this will likely be my last opportunity to say
anything from the top position of an arena, I'm going to ramble on just a bit longer.
Any objections? No? Good!
I wish to discuss favorite learns for my style.
I'm going to be allowed to continue developing because of two things. The first
being that I have a 21WL. The second is because my favorite learn is defense. It's
well known that my style isn't known for its defensive abilities. While we usually
start out with a decent base in defense, something prevents us from utilizing it. My
manager has made the following observations regarding my style and favorite learn.
(Disclaimer: These opinions are just that: Opinions. Opinions based on what he has
experienced while running this style. By no means are they law, or even known to be
shared by others.)
Decise favorite: Very coveted. Remain very decisive throughout entire career.
Couple this with a bonus in decise and you have a nice tourney slasher, provided he
learns well enough.
Attack favorite: Let's face it, every style benefits from having attack as a
favorite learn. For my style it seems to increase our crit percentage very early in
our career. As such, it may make it more difficult to find our favorite weapon. But
if you're throwing that many crits... who cares?! My manager speculates that a very
large percentage of basic slasher TVs will have either decise or attack as a favorite
learn.
Initiative favorite: What a waste. Our style already has an abundant supply.
With initiative as a favorite we tend to be extremely unbalanced skill-wise. Like
having a Master in init before achieving Expert in any other area. When this happens
we seem to struggle until things start evening out a bit.
Riposte favorite: Believe it or not, having riposte as a favorite learn isn't
all bad. Couple it with a little bit of CN and some armor to beat those decisive STs
and BAs early in our career. Of course, if you're very frail, then riposte skills
aren't going to be as much use.
Parry favorite: The single worst favorite learn a SL can get! Once you find
out that your SL's favorite learn is parry, do yourself a favor and send him back to
the farm. Save yourself the frustration. It will hinder his performance throughout
his career.
Defensive favorite: Unknown. I'm the first to graduate with defense as a
favorite. (Now there have been a couple along the way that more than likely had
defense as a favorite learn, but they're both dead. Messiah is suspected to have it
as a favorite and he's died twice.) If you have a SL in basic that achieves an AdEx
or higher in defense, then chances are really good that it's his favorite. Even if
he's learned more init and attack.
But anyway, my manager is curious to see how I perform as I develop. Even
though my rhythm and learn do not compliment each other.
There! That ought to be a column worthy of my last! For my final fight there
will be no avoids or challenges issued.
Farewell, everyone. I have enjoyed my time here. Now I must go pack and get
ready to depart. Homeguard bound. Life and luck to you all!
-- LP Seam
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Profile of a Style
Slashers
This article is not the Last Word on Slashers. But I've run a lot of them, and
I think I have something useful to say. They were my default style when I was
learning the game; if I didn't know what else to do with a roll-up, I made it a
Slasher, armed it with a scimitar, and ran it 10-10-x until I figured out what I
should be doing instead. Usually, "instead" meant lightening the armor and slowing
them down because they got tired too fast, activity level first, then if necessary,
offensive effort. An amazing number of them survived and even graduated on this
strategy.
I have the details of sixty-five immortal Slashers here, warriors who,
regardless of my managerial expertise or lack thereof, managed to survive to
graduation. Some are very bad, but lucky. A few are very good. Most are ordinary
warriors of moderate ability, made from the kind of roll-ups that you see every day.
I'm not going to list all sixty-five of them, which is way too many for a practical
discussion, but think of them in the background, confirming or denying suggestions
and suppositions.
Favorite weapons: You will find that only those weapons which may show up as
favorites when a warrior graduates will be listed as "well-suited" in the fight
reports. These favored weapons vary with style, and I assure you they have been
thoroughly researched by players over the years.
The eight weapons suitable for use by Slashers, and the minimum stats required
to use them, are:
Battleaxe ST 15 WT 9 DF 9 \\ 12 in sample
Broadsword ST 11 WT 9 DF 7 \\ 7 in sample
Epee ST 7 WT 15 DF 15 \\ 5 in sample
Greataxe ST 13 WT 9 DF 11 \\ 8 in sample
Hatchet ST 5 WT 3 DF 7 \\ 9 in sample
Longsword ST 11 WT 13 DF 11 \\ 8 in sample
Scimitar ST 9 WT 11 DF 11 \\ 10 in sample
Shortsword ST 5 WT 11 DF 3 \\ 6 in sample
[Data courtesy of Pagan and other managers, for which I thank them. Any errors are
my own.]
The final number on each line is the total number of Slashers in my sample who
had the weapon in question as a favorite. (Just as a warning on the unreliability of
statistics, the first twenty-two warriors on my Slasher list favored an axe of some
kind over a sword by 2 to 1. But on the group of sixty-five, the proportions are
reversed! Tricky things, numbers.)
Study this chart, and resist the temptation to make a Slasher who doesn't have
the stats to use at least one of these weapons well. I can tell you from bitter
experience that you do not want a warrior who is unsuited to every weapon in the book
by reason of either stat deficiencies or style preferences. If you haven't done it
yet, then take my advice and avoid this pitfall; it is enormously frustrating.
Weapons not listed on this chart are not suited to the slashing style. Really,
we're not guessing--managers have tested this repeatedly, and arming a Slasher with,
say, a war hammer or a long spear will always, regardless of his stats, get the
result "uses this weapon in an unorthodox style" (meaning "badly"). You want to
avoid that.
As you can see from the list above, a Slasher doesn't have just ONE important
stat where weapon choice is concerned. Over all, strength, wit, and deftness are
equally important, but there is enough variation that a warrior deficient in one area
but not the others can find something to fight with.
Below are two dozen immortal Slashers, three who favor each of the Slasher's
weapons, their relevant stats, and their favorite rhythms.
Battleaxe
Damoreth ST 13 WT 17 DF 11 H/VL
Kaltho ST 10 WT 17 DF 13 VH/L
Robin ST 10 WT 17 DF 7 M/M
Note that none of these three warriors has the minimum stats needed to use a
battleaxe to best advantage! That's one of the little tricks the Commission plays on
us to make sure we don't find things too easy. You'll see others below who lack some
critical stat needed for using their favorite weapon, also.
Broadsword
The Kid ST 13 WT 11 DF 11 H/L
Elin ST 19 WT 11 DF 17 H/VL
Gilis ST 9 WT 17 DF 11 H/VL
Epee
Billie ST 12 WT 12 DF 9 H/VL
Anlis ST 11 WT 15 DF 13 VH/L
Kyra ST 9 WT 11 DF 17 M/VL
Greataxe
Kothland ST 10 WT 15 DF 9 H/VL
Jane Erh ST 9 WT 15 DF 15 M/VL
Ginger ST 9 WT 11 DF 11 H/VL
Hatchet
Kirmo ST 9 WT 15 DF 13 H/VL
Treefrog ST 10 WT 13 DF 9 H/L
Medio Curr ST 9 WT 11 DF 13 H/L
Longsword
Goff ST 9 WT 11 DF 9 H/VL
Tumbleweed ST 11 WT 13 DF 9 H/L
Nelinaria ST 12 WT 17 DF 13 H/L
Scimitar
Horace ST 13 WT 11 DF 13 VH/VL
Wolf ST 9 WT 15 DF 13 H/VL
Geladina ST 9 WT 15 DF 12 M/VL
Shortsword
Rover ST 13 WT 9 DF 11 VH/VL
Riya ST 10 WT 15 DF 9 VH/VL
Hammir ST 9 WT 15 DF 13 VH/L
My habit of giving any Slasher with the necessary stats a scimitar to wield
means that a lot of these warriors never ran their favorite weapon. But they
survived anyway, because the scimitar is so GOOD. I really like arming Slashers (and
many other styles) with scimitars, and I highly recommend it. Just one scimitar in
hand, off-hand empty, and a back-up on the belt. A warrior who does NOT have the
stats for a scimitar (hard to imagine, given my basic design philosophy) is not
trained as a Slasher.
Which brings us to the question of warrior design. With me, if I'm determined
that a warrior shall be a Slasher, the basic design decisions are already made: a
Slasher must be able to use a scimitar. Okay, not always. Seven of the twenty-four
warriors listed above lack the deftness for a scimitar, which means I probably sent
them out with a shortsword or a hatchet. But "able to use a scimitar" is still my
basic Slasher criterion. If there are points left over after arranging that, I put
'em on will. And if will is 11 or better, I MIGHT put some points on speed, just to
see what happens.
You will note that I don't figure any points to be added to CN. True, a Slasher
burns endurance rapidly and may get tired in less than a minute if running hard. But
Slashers are offensive warriors. They aren't out there for a long fight; their style
wins quickly by attacking, or quits and fights another day. For the same reason, I
am unlikely to put a Slasher in anything heavier than leather armor. (The "quits to
fight another day" strategy has offensive effort and kill desire both dropped to
moderate or lower in desperation.)
Favorite rhythm: As I said at the beginning, when I started playing, I used to
run my Slashers 10-10-x, and many of them did well enough to graduate under that
regimen. But looking at the favorites from my graduated Slashers, I find no
offensive effort lower than Moderate (5 or 6) and no activity level higher than
moderate. It breaks down this way:
Very High (9-10)/Moderate (5-6): 2
Very High (9-10)/Low (4-5): 6
Very High (9-10)/Very Low (1-2): 8
High (7-8)/Moderate (5-6): 1
High (7-8)/Low (3-4): 10
High (7-8)/Very Low (1-2): 21
Moderate (5-6)/Moderate (5-6): 4
Moderate (5-6)/Low (3-4): 6
Moderate (5-6)/Very Low (1-2) 7
This gives you a clear idea of how the Gladiatorial Commission sees Slashers:
offensive. In all but four out of sixty-five cases, offensive effort is higher than
activity level, and sometimes--often--it's a lot higher. This is not to say that you
will always want to run your Slasher hard and fast, which will burn his endurance at
a furious rate, but this is what he does best.
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 have a
favorite attack location. Logical arguments based on real-life concepts do not
necessarily apply to Duelmasters. There IS evidence to support the claim that
increased deftness means a better chance of hitting the designated attack location,
in case you wondered about that. And even without training DF to a higher number, a
warrior appears to gain accuracy with experience and an increase in skills.
Favorite Tactics: In my sample of sixty-five warriors, only four have a
favorite tactic, and in all four cases that favorite is the offensive tactic Slash.
This is not to say that your warrior can't use any other tactic to advantage, because
maybe he can. Well, okay, I wouldn't give him a Bash tactic, and probably not a
Lunge, either.... But apparently the only tactic he really likes is Slash.
Going from the general to the specific--
Profile of a Warrior
Black Victor
Slasher
Vic is 9-7-15-17-15-10-11, no stats trained, and he was 22-18-2 running on
maintenance at the time he received his graduation notice. He had an advanced master
in initiative, and advanced expert in riposte, a master in attack, and an advanced
expert in decisiveness.
According to his overview, he is very intelligent (something not always
demonstrated in his dealings with his teammates)
Nothing short of a genius at keeping his foes at sword's point
Does a lot of little things well
Uses an unusual fighting style, deadly to slower, less active foes (I have
NEVER gotten an overview that claimed the warrior used a hackneyed, common fighting
style that would result in getting himself killed)
Avoids blows well
He's an extremely active fighter (the SP and DF)
Cannot take a lot of punishment (low CN)
Can only carry a very little weight in armor and weapons (low ST)
Is very quick on his feet
Avoiding rather than trading blows
Can do good damage with a blow (largely a result of his SZ)
The Commission claim he favors a battle axe, which he has never tried, and a
rhythm of very high offensive effort and very low activity level
At the time this invitation to the Isle arrived, he was running 10-10-8 straight
across, carrying a scimitar and backup scimitar, in leather armor and a helm,
attacking right arm, protecting body, and using no tactics. Sunset (DM 21) is not an
easy arena, but this strategy--you'll note that it is not his "favorite"--got him out
alive.
But suppose he had the same stats but some other style. What difference might
that have made? None to his ability to take and deal out damage, but more than you
might think to his initial, or base, skills. Several managers (Sir Boyd and Pagan
are prominent among them, but I know others have helped, all unsung) have done a lot
of research, analysis, and experiment on the relation between a warrior's starting
stats and style and his starting skills. (Note that a warrior's starting skills may
not be exactly what the charts would lead you to expect. There is a luck factor; a
warrior may sometimes have more or fewer of a given skill than expected.) His
ability to take and deal out damage, and to carry or not carry weight would have
remained the same, but....
This is how Vic would have stacked up as a warrior of another style in the
skills department:
Skills
Style Init Rip Att Par Def Dec Total
AB 5 3 6 1 5 10 30
BA 12 7 10 1 3 10 33
LU 13 7 12 1 7 9 49
PL 10 7 10 3 5 8 43
PR 8 11 6 3 3 6 37
PS 8 7 6 3 5 8 37
SL 14 7 10 -1 5 9 44
ST 9 7 6 0 5 10 37
TP 8 7 4 7 5 6 37
WS 14 7 10 5 5 8 49
All styles are not created equal, but have their own various strengths and
weaknesses.
Do you look at this chart and wonder why all warriors aren't created lungers and
walls of steel? Well, a lot of them are, especially lungers. Some die of that low
CN, inability to carry much armor, and lack of parry and defense skills. Some fall
victim to bad matches, develop losing records (this warrior is NOT at his best
against a long-haul total parry, for instance), and get sent to the Dark Arena. Some
managers simply LIKE to play other styles, and can make up in skilled management what
the warrior may lose on the initial roll-up.
Which brings me to an issue I would like to just mention to those of you here
who are new managers. You can design warriors to maximize starting skills. Let's
suppose that Vic's initial roll-up had a ST of 7 and I decided NOT to add two points
to it. I could have put those points on either WT, WL, or DF, the three most skill-
rich stats and had more skills for him to start with. But with a ST of 7, I couldn't
have counted on getting at least normal damage done, even with his big SZ, and
"little damage" has been the end of many warriors. What good are skills if you can't
take your opponent down? If I'd accepted a lower CN, I could have put more points
into stockpiling skills... and maybe gotten a "very frail" warrior, one who couldn't
survive a blow. What good are skills if you can die from a single blow?
Good warrior design is a balancing act. You have to know what you expect of the
warrior: is he to be a long-term project, destined to dominate high-end play, or a
dixie-cup short-term warrior? A short-term warrior can get away with a lot of
"design flaws" that would be disaster for a long-termer. He can get away with being
very frail, or having a WL too low for training up stats. He can be experimental.
But the first requirement for a long-term warrior is that he survive to reach the
Isle and immortality. Skills alone are not enough for that.
Jorja
Middle Way
P.S. If there's something you'd specifically like to hear about, ASK. I don't know
what your questions are if you don't ask 'em.
+>]H[<+-----+>]H[+ Question of the Week #4 +]H[<+-----+>]H[<+
The Question of the Week is posed in Aruak City (DM 11) by Hanibal, a manager
who is himself an alumnus of Noblish Island. The answers are provided by other
managers in that arena. Any manager here in Noblish who wishes to pose a question to
the more experienced managers of Aruak City, feel free to do so, either by sending in
a personal directed to DM 11 and identifying yourself as a manager from Noblish
seeking enlightenment, or by posting the question here, in which case I will be glad
to see that it reaches Aruak.
Also, Hanibal sends you greetings and asks that we remind you that all arenas do
not have the same attitude and local conventions. Aruak City is an Andorian arena
and subscribes to the doctrine of Honorable Play, meaning, no down-challenging except
from the throne or in bloodfeuds, no deliberate attempts to kill the warriors of
other managers, and a general attitude of friendly respect toward the other members
of the arena. It is, in fact, a fine arena, and one where you would all be welcome
(though there are plenty of others--just ask, and I'll be glad to tell you about my
favorites). -- Jorja
Question, turn 405:
All -- If I had a warrior blessed +4 in all areas, maxed out with all 25's would I
have a chance to beat the top warriors in Primus or Gateway? RSI says you get better
as you gain FE. Some of those warriors have 10 years of FE. How could one ever
compete? -- Hanibal's Q.O.W.
Answers, turn 406:
Q.O.W. -- A warrior as you have described would definitely be a viable contender at
the top of Gateway! Maybe even the best. Experience, though helpful, is vastly
outweighed by raw skill. Plus, a great set of favorites make's such a warrior much
better. If worked properly, a warrior +4 in everything could possibly TC a couple of
times and use those prizes to make them better. Young warriors are continually
making gains into being competitive with the top of Primus and Gateway. It just
takes a lot of time. Donatello and some older warriors used to be the very best, but
younger ones have upset the balance. Nothing is set in stone. -- Adie
P.S. Not that I've had much luck chipping at that stone. It's very difficult when
you're a small manager.
Hanibal -- If that hypothetical warrior you speak of had one of the fighting styles
that were suited to high end competition, then it would be very competitive. Let's
say you went whole-hog and made it a lunger. Being bonused by four in every category
would make it one of the very best. But it just doesn't happen! Ask the Consortium
how many +24 warriors they've had.
Total FEs have a slight, even marginal effect, on the outcome of fights. Having
good favorites is more important, and the amount of tourney prizes used on a warrior
cannot be discounted either. If you're trying to choose which tourney class to try
and TC, I would advise something lower than Primus or Gateway! -- Generalissimo
Puerco
Hannibal -- Regarding your question of the week: Does their long experience make the
top warriors in Gateway unbeatable? I have no personal experience with Gateway and
don't care to get any at this point, but a manager who IS in Gateway says, No, the
top warriors in Gateway are not unbeatable. But the critical factors include not
only the warrior's abilities but those of the manager. -- Leeta
Not a question of the week, but something else you might find interesting. Thank of
it as an alternative to all the "How to make a perfect whatever" articles.
Jorja -- In dm 12 Riztab you asked me what I'd do with a certain roll-up wich wasn't
too good: 12-16-12-3-9-12-6.
IF I wanted to actually play this monstrosity of brilliance, then I would do so
only for a limited time it depends upon what I can challenge in the arena but let's
say there are a lot of poor endurance weaklings, and/or a lot of Scum TP's. Then I
would run this guy until I didn't have a descent chance to get my challenges through.
There seems to me only one option for this guy: 17-16-12-3-13-12-11 Basher. He has
a 50-50 chance to get tremendous damage capability. If he only gets Great Damage
then DA him. If he gets his Tremendous damage then what you do is challenge EVERY
scum TP you possibly can, and since they are scum TPs they are prime targets for
down-challenging. Its not like you are picking on them; they are scum. This guy has
a 100% chance to get Good endurance. I would ONLY run a 10 Kill-desire and try to
kill things, but perhaps multiple wins over the same warriors is beter than being
bloodfeuded by a warrior that can beat you. I would ONLY run with the MAce. You
could go ahead and use a HL or a ML for those TP's but at tremendous damage and a
MAce you shouldn't get any bounces, and plenty of massive damage statements. Only
use a MODERATE OE with a 1 AL starting in minute 3. USE BASH. Minute 1 and 2 go
with a scum TP strategy but use response. No armor of course. Now for all other
match-ups you go out like the scum you are: APA+F MA+LG (well-suited to the weapons
selected), and run a triple-10 trying to get the jump, desperation should mimick your
minute 1 strat. Minute 2 onward just drop the AL to LOW and then to VERY LOW.
Physicals for this guy are: Good endurance, can sustain a Tremendous amount of
damage, can carry a Tremendous amount of weight, can do a Tremendous amount of
damage. This kind of warrior is much more fun than a Scum TP. He should beat any TP
as long as you follow my guidelines. During random match-ups you will have some
definate good chances to kill those weaklings that can't do enough damage to get
through the plate and the hit-points. If you don't want to kill then I advise not
droping your KD below a 6. The problem is that although you can take a lot of hits
like a TP you can't parry any of them. If you can't start swinging sometime in
Minute 2 then your chances to win are slim against those random offensive matchups. -
- Pagan
Question, turn 406:
All -- Does having a lot of initiative skills help to steal initiative or is it all
riposte skills? Is there a difference between "seeking the counterstrike" and "tries
to steal the initiative" or is it the same thing, but a different statement. --
Q.O.W.
Answers, turn 407:
Hanibal -- QoW: If two warriors are fighting and one has a great deal more init.
skills than the other, it is possible for the initiative in the fight to get taken
without a riposte. It doesn't happen an awful lot, but it isn't shocking to see it
happen. Ex: A friend had a basher that started AE init on the rollup. His first
fight he matches against an aimed blow. The aimed blow wins decise, hits him once in
the head, and without going desperate or anything, he just starts swinging and beats
the poor aimer just like that. You probably know that aimers usually tend to lack
init skills, so in that case the difference in total init allowed the basher to just
steal it. Even when ripostes are involved, init still plays a role. If you've seen
a warrior repeatedly make riposte attempts, only to get attacked again, then its
because the defending warrior's init was insufficient to allow him to attack after
the riposte. Alternatively, styles like plungers and wastes make fewer attempts to
riposte, but their attempts are usually successful because their init is so good. Of
course, the strategy a particular warrior is using (as well as the strategy of his
opponent) is important in taking and maintaining the initiative too. -- Generalissimo
Puerco
Q.O.W. -- Those fancy terms that come after a parry or dodge are successful attempts
to potentially riposte. Then, once you succeed at getting that fancy line (your
riposte vs. their init), you make another check (I think your init vs. your
opponent's init) to actually take the initiative from them. This is usually the
easiest way to take the initiative from a warrior. Each riposte line is a chance to
take it away. An example is how some rippers with low init may attempt to riposte
off of every single attack, but they may only steal it after several tries.
Sometimes, however, a warrior may actually just straight out steal the
initiative. This occurs usually when the one doing the stealing has a very high
rating in init and the opponent's rating is low. A good example includes when a
lunger gets hit by say an aimed blow, but the very next line is the lunger swinging
back. No riposte what-so-ever! This is much rarer. This can also be a function of
what offensive effort and activity a warrior is running. Warriors running more
slowly can often lose the initiative this way as they just give it up. -- Adie
Question, turn 407:
All -- Is there a difference in between an Expert and (AE). It appears to me that
your (17, 18, 19th) skills don't seem to make a difference until you get that next
rating @ 20? -- Q.O.W.
Answer next turn, don't have the time to dig it out today! -- Jorja
* }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ *
---===FREE BLADES REGIONAL NEWS===---
Duelmasters
-----------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 739): THROUGH THE WINDOW of PAPERBOYS (slugbait, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 741): TATUM of BLUE NOTE (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 713): FRANKIE of SERPENTS HOLD 929 (Khisanth, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 735): NO RAIN of BLIND MELON (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 737): TEETER SLAUGHTER of DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND (The Dark One, mgr)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 729): PING of G.O.L.F. (The Chosen One, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 730): SAMUEL COLT of MAN OR BEAST? (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 367): MERCURY of ZODIAC (Stargazer, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 727): ZARGAS of THE GUILD (Guido, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 365): NABUCA of WHAMMO & THUDDA 4U! (La Guillotine, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 726): RUE LEROHELL of DEVIL ADVOCATES (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 720): PIEHOLDEN SWEET of SUMMERTEETH (Howlin' Wolf, mgr)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 712): VAMPIRE SQUID of SEA DOGS (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 671): XOWIE of TOLBIN'S X-MEN (Tolbin, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 342): LAPUR BISQUE of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit, mgr)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 336): JACK B. NIMBLE of ROYAL FLUSH (Crip, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 323): QUALITY of LIFE IMPACTS (Smitty, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 602): GASTON IPPS of MIDDLE WAY 20 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 587): SFC 2 of MEDAL OF HONOR B11 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 569): POSITION IS EMPTY
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 564): KALDAN TEN KARAN of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 572): EDMONDS of GASHOUSE GANG (Crip, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 525): HOGSHEAD of COUNTRY PIE (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 519): DESTRUCTIVE ENERGY of CRITICALS (Howlin' Wolf, mgr)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 511): GENERAL 2 of MEDAL OF HONOR Z2 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 628): ABSOLUTION of ANGELS OF PAIN (The Dark One, mgr.)
Top Teams
---------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 739): BLUE MOON (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 741): BLUE NOTE (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 713): CARDOW HUNTERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 735): POSITION IS EMPTY
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 737): AIMER'S INC (Tolbin, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 729): BODY OF MUSIC (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 730): VISIONS V2 (Tolbin, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 367): LORD OF DISCIPLINE (Longshot, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 727): THE GUILD (Guido, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 365): WHAMMO & THUDDA 4U! (La Guillotine, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 723): DEVIL ADVOCATES (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 720): CLASSIC CHARACTERS (The Producer, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 712): POSITION IS EMPTY
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 671): TOLBIN'S X-MEN (Tolbin, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 342): DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 336): DEAD GAWDS (Death Jester, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 323): MESOPOTAMIA (Var, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 602): MEDAL OF HONOR A11 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 587): MEDAL OF HONOR B11 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 569): MIDDLE WAY 16 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 564): TOLBIN'S GEMS (Tolbin, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 272): GASHOUSE GANG (Crip, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 528): TOLBINS LADIES (Tolbin, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 519): GRIZZLED VETERANS (Dameon Darkheart, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 511): MEDAL OF HONOR Z2 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 628): DIRT DEVILS et al (The Dark One, mgr.)
Recent Graduates
-----------------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 738): ODDLY ELEGANT of DEVIATION (Marma Duke, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 741): HELIODORUS of DREAMERS (Sleepy, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 735): NO RAIN of BLIND MELON (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
TONES OF HOME of BLIND MELON (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 736): EVERBRINGER of SHADOWMONGERS (Shadow, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 730): SAMUEL COLT of MAN OR BEAST? (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 365): VENGEANCE of THE STORM REAVERS (?, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 719): LADY KALDRA of LUROCIANS II (The Greek Guy, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 712): VAMPIRE SQUID of SEA DOGS (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 342): THE STATISTITIAN of AVID FANS (Crip, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 568): FIFINE GILLY of MIDDLE WAY 16 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 518): WINTER ROSE of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
SPY REPORT
Greetings, warriors of NOBLISH ISLAND! Once again I've been called out of
retirement for my abilities and insights into Spyreporting. What's with CHIHUAHUAN
DESERT? It actually beat GHOSTWALKERS' THUMPER, and walked away with 22 more points
from the fight. Major screwup at GHOSTWALKERS. THUMPER lost 6 points to CHIHUAHUAN
DESERT. Some new strategies, perhaps? Maybe THUMPER will provide more easy wins...
I'm sure NOBLISH ISLAND is excited about SMYTHE TODD, the new Duelmaster from HIGH
WAY 2. (remember?) But when you've seen as many as I have... Wouldn't it be nice
to have live subjects to practice on? I hear some team is looking into the uses of
convicted prisoners.
If at first you don't succeed, avoid. That'll get you in the Spyreports.
NOBLISH ISLAND thinks GHOSTWALKERS and their 12-20-3 is too much! If at first you
don't succeed, give up... Management must be dealin', as the boys at OLD EL PASO
ain't reelin'! GHOSTWALKERS' mad! How well I know the feeling of being the most
challenged warrior, ENDURANCE BURN! Don't make idle boasts, they may come back to
haunt you. I hate going to the effort of writing about the kind of fights that
STARFIRE gets in. She fights people like ENDURANCE BURN, 8 points below. I thought
STARFIRE showed great skill and promise when she subdued ENDURANCE BURN. All right,
so I slept through it! Big deal!
There have been some calls to lengthen the time limit. Do you want the fighters
to walk away, or not? Many a warrior has met his fate in a hungover stupor. You
young rapscallions, take note!
Who knows what the future holds for a warrior. More fights, there's no doubt.
The end of another Spyreport! That's cause for celebration in my book! Remember--a
good fighter needs both good skills and good luck. Until next time,-- Olaf Modeen
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
SMYTHE TODD 9510 6 4 0 48 HIGH WAY 2 (1637)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
MEOSHA PALMER 9508 8 2 1 44 HIGH WAY 2 (1637)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
KEOSAQUA LANE 9506 6 4 0 30 HIGH WAY 2 (1637)
QUINCY ROSS 9509 5 5 0 24 HIGH WAY 2 (1637)
LOSING TO AIMERS 9525 3 0 0 24 BASH BROS WASTE (1640)
CHIHUAHUAN DESERT 9531 1 2 0 24 OLD EL PASO (1641)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
PASO DEL NORTE 9532 3 0 0 22 OLD EL PASO (1641)
STINKS 9526 2 1 0 22 BASH BROS WASTE (1640)
STARFIRE 9472 3 3 1 19 GHOSTWALKERS (1630)
STRIKER 9469 4 4 1 17 GHOSTWALKERS (1630)
THUMPER 9471 4 4 0 16 GHOSTWALKERS (1630)
CONQUISTADOR 9530 1 2 0 15 OLD EL PASO (1641)
MILTON ONLY 9507 2 8 0 14 HIGH WAY 2 (1637)
CIUDAD JUAREZ 9529 2 1 0 12 OLD EL PASO (1641)
-SWIFTY 9470 1 5 1 9 GHOSTWALKERS (1630)
THE RIO GRANDE 9534 1 0 0 9 OLD EL PASO (1641)
SPECIAL DISPOSAL 9527 1 2 0 5 BASH BROS WASTE (1640)
MODE SKILLS 9524 1 2 0 5 BASH BROS WASTE (1640)
ENDURANCE BURN 9528 0 3 0 3 BASH BROS WASTE (1640)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
PERSONAL ADS
Spectre -- If you over-encumber, you burn endurance at a much higher rate. If you do
not overencumber, you do not. In my opinion, there is probably very little or no
endurance advantage for being lesser encumbered. However, there is probably a speed
/ decisiveness / initiative advantage for wearing as little armor as possible. Not a
specific answer you were wanting, but an answer, nonetheless. -- Ponce de leon
Congrats again to Duelmaster Mat Tukholt of Misfits Of Doom. -- Ponce de Leon and the
Old El Paso clan
Uh, Shmegal, you clod, you killed me and I didn't even have the ring. Meanie! I was
feeling like one of the best warriors on Old El Paso at 17-11-13-17-9-6-11, but you
showed me apparently I am not. You dog! -- Rio Grande, undead and undone
But, it is I, The Rio Grande replacing my dead namesake. I seek revenge. -- The Rio
Grande
Mode Skills -- A pox on you and your modiness. -- Chihuahuan Desert
Milton Only -- Perhaps if there had been two of you? -- Conquistador
A terrible thought.
Losing To Aimers -- Well, I guess not. And it was MY challenge? Your manager must
be better than my manager. -- Ciudad Juarez
Special Disposal -- It is good to see that an Old El Paso can defeat a BB Waste. Not
often, but it IS a start. -- Paso del Norte
Assur -- My friend, this is looking like your set. Kudos. -- Ponce de Leon
Any -- If I fail to "bump" a stat, do the odds stay the same until I do? How do I
calculate "damage class" and hit points? What is a hybrid? A Consortium? A golem?
-- Spectre
Spectre -- My off-the-cuff (ragged cuffs I've got, too) answer to your question about
carrying capacity is, "Of course!" But that's based on real-world logic, which is
not a good guide. My guess based on the general feeling I've gotten from fights is,
"Probably, but not drastically." For details, you'll have to look to the Consortium
and Assur. -- Jorja
Swifty -- My advice, based on Jorja's biases, is for you to drop the off-hand weapon.
Although it is not invariable, she feels that to have anything in the off-hand is a
distraction. Real-world logic would say, "unless you're ambidextrous," but who can
tell how the computer will figure it? -- Quincy Ross
Starfire -- I dunno, raise your offensive effort, maybe? You should at least TRY to
strike a blow. -- Keosaqua Lane
P.S. It could simply be the experience difference that got you.
Thumper -- That was weird. You shouldn't have gotten so tired, though. Maybe if you
dropped your fight numbers in, say, minutes two and three, so that if you end up in a
long fight, you won't burn out right off? Maybe train your CN to increase endurance,
too, as you have a style that demands a lot of that. -- Meosha Palmer
A Userous Merchant? Small potatoes. We like our spuds bigger where I come from. --
Smythe Todd
P.S. And then we make FRIES.
Conquistador -- I did NOT like getting the team's only loss. Don't do that again!
Think of me as... an Apache, someone better avoided. -- Milton Only
Misfits of Doom -- Well done, putting my Wastes done. -- Assur
Ponce De Leon -- Good thing you're here, otherwise my losses likely would have been
way higher than I like to count. -- Assur
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
STARFIRE devastated ENDURANCE BURN in a 3 minute mismatched Challenge fight.
SMYTHE TODD won victory over FRATSFA SLAVE in a 3 minute gruesome Title battle.
KEOSAQUA LANE subdued STRIKER in a 2 minute fight.
QUINCY ROSS was vanquished by DANGEROUS CRIMINAL in a 1 minute mismatched brawl.
MEOSHA PALMER outlasted THE USEROUS MERCHANT in a 7 minute fight.
THUMPER was demolished by CHIHUAHUAN DESERT in a 1 minute mismatched competition.
MILTON ONLY lost to PASO DEL NORTE in a crowd pleasing 5 minute fight.
MODE SKILLS was savagely defeated by THE RIO GRANDE in a 1 minute amateur's brawl.
LOSING TO AIMERS overcame CONQUISTADOR in a 3 minute gruesome beginner's melee.
STINKS vanquished EMBEZZLING SCRIBE in a 1 minute uneven fight.
SPECIAL DISPOSAL lost to CIUDAD JUAREZ in a 2 minute novice's fight.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|WALL OF STEEL 7 TOTAL PARRY 20 - 7 - 1 74 |
|AIMED BLOW 2 STRIKING ATTACK 21 - 12 - 2 64 |
|TOTAL PARRY 2 AIMED BLOW 7 - 5 - 1 58 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 2 BASHING ATTACK 12 - 11 - 0 52 |
|BASHING ATTACK 2 WALL OF STEEL 18 - 17 - 0 51 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 1 PARRY-STRIKE 22 - 23 - 1 49 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 4 - 5 - 1 44 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 1 LUNGING ATTACK 1 - 2 - 0 33 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 SLASHING ATTACK 3 - 8 - 0 27 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 - 0 0 |
Turn 394 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:
AIMED BLOW 2 - 0 WALL OF STEEL 3 - 4 4 WALL OF STEEL
LUNGING ATTACK 1 - 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 2 TOTAL PARRY
STRIKING ATTACK 1 - 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 1 1 STRIKING ATTACK
TOTAL PARRY 2 - 0 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 0 1 BASHING ATTACK
SLASHING ATTACK 1 - 1 BASHING ATTACK 0 - 2 1 LUNGING ATTACK
1 AIMED BLOW
1 PARRY-STRIKE
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
STRIKING ATTACK SMYTHE TODD 9510 6 4 0 48 HIGH WAY 2 (1637)
TOTAL PARRY MEOSHA PALMER 9508 8 2 1 44 HIGH WAY 2 (1637)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is MILTON ONLY 9507. The most popular warrior this
turn was MILTON ONLY 9507. The ten other most popular fighters were SMYTHE TODD
9510, KEOSAQUA LANE 9506, CONQUISTADOR 9530, STARFIRE 9472, CHIHUAHUAN DESERT 9531,
THE RIO GRANDE 9534, LOSING TO AIMERS 9525, MEOSHA PALMER 9508, STINKS 9526, and
CIUDAD JUAREZ 9529.
The least popular fighter this week was MODE SKILLS 9524. The other ten least
popular fighters were PASO DEL NORTE 9532, THUMPER 9471, QUINCY ROSS 9509, ENDURANCE
BURN 9528, SPECIAL DISPOSAL 9527, STRIKER 9469, CIUDAD JUAREZ 9529, STINKS 9526,
MEOSHA PALMER 9508, and LOSING TO AIMERS 9525.
Top Ten Reasons Why Duelmasters is better than Sex
10. When you spend money on Duelmasters, you know you're going to get return on your
investment.
9. One arena won't get jealous when you start playing in another.
8. With the right tourney prize, you can design your own warrior.
7. If you make it to AD, they tell you your warrior's favorites.
6. You can always DA and get another roll-up.
5. The more experience you get, the less likely you are to die.
4. SZ, CN and Charisma are less important in Duelmasters.
3. Most mangers are satisfied with two minute fights.
2. Warriors do as they're told, even if it means using ALE and a WF.
And the number one reason..........
1. You don't have to hold your turn for an hour after you're finished reading it.
Composed by the Jester and Predator
THE ULTIMATE AIMED BLOW
Oh no, not another aimed blow, you think, they always lose and have a tendency to
die if they meet the right person. But I can promise you that this fighter will give
you a lot of wins. Not a 20-0-? record, but a respectable one. Let's have a look at
the stats:
THE BEST: IF YOU CAN FIND IT: TOO BIG: TOO FAST: THE MUTANT:
ST: 9 ST: 9 ST: 9 ST: 9 ST: 7
CN: 15 +/- CN: 14 CN: 14 CN: 15 CN: 15
SZ: 3 - 5 SZ: 3 SZ: 6 - 9 SZ: 3 - 5 SZ: 3
WT: 19 +/- WT: 21 WT: 17 + WT: 19 WT: 13 - 15
WL: 18 +/- WL: 19 WL: 17 + WL: 18 WL: 13 - 15
SP: 3 - 5 SP: 3 SP: 3 - 6 SP: 4 - 9 SP: 15 +
DF: 15 +/- DF: 15 DF: 15 DF: 13 DF: 15 +
ST: So you can use some weapons.
CN: So you can stand some damage, and get at least good endurance.
SZ: The smaller the better.
WT: You need to be smart, and it helps a lot on stats and skills training.
WL: Helps you stand even more damage. It also helps a lot on stats and skills
training.
SP: The slower the better, but needs to be trained to avoid clumsiness. It doesn't
matter if this stat is low, you will hit when you want to hit.
DF: Gives you the response to other's actions, and gives you the initiative when you
need it.
The main weakness of this little fellow seems to be his speed, but this
disadvantage is made good by his small size. He will dodge nearly anything, and what
hits him doesn't matter because of his constitution. The strategy is all up to each
manager, but I prefer to run mine like this:
Weapons: Epee vs. Light Armor
Short Spear vs. Medium Armor
Shortsword vs. Heavy Armor
Shield: Medium Shield vs. Light and Heavy Armor
Armor: Depends on who I am challenging
Helm: Full helm
Strategy 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th+ Desp.
Offensive Effort 5 5 5 6 5 4 2
Activity Level 5 6 6 6 5 5 4
Kill Desire 4 4 5 6 6 4 2
Attack Location: Head or Chest
Defend Location: Body or Head
Offensive and Defensive tactics are something I seldom use.
Challenging is very important when running an aimed blow. Try to challenge big,
unarmored fighters. Train strength, speed, and deftness.
Well, that's all, for now. Try it and send me a diplo note if you have any
comments on my aimed blow.
Brought to you by Manimal, Manager of Cowards Guild, DM-31.
May victory by yours (or mine.)
Aimed Blows My Way
Okay, so it's a pretentious title. No more so than anyone else's, what with all
these "the perfect" this and "the perfect" that; what I'm going to show you here is
several different ways to make aimed blows and win with them.
There is no one specific way to make an aimed blow. You'll hear a lot of
managers claim that they "HAVE" to have a 21 DF in order to be any good at all. Well,
that's a trifle exaggerated. It's NICE to have a 21 DF. This will increase your
attack rating, and give you a certain boost. But it isn't necessary for a good,
solid, long-term aimed blow.
I'm going to give several examples of aimed blows, both how-tos and how-not-tos.
All the aimed blows represented here actually fight on one of my stables, so I did
this all by hit-and-miss. Unlike some managers, I don't believe that the first,
third, and fifth rules of aimed blows is "they die." It's only the third rule. <grin>
Now then. Design:
ST: Any, really. You can go low, since aims can handle daggers and open hand
just fine.
CN: Again, any. A little more can help them take a hit, but if they're lucky,
they'll do all right even if they can't.
SZ: Any. This is a versatile style. Big ones do great. Little ones do great.
WT: I'm going to surprise you, here. Anything. Yep, anything. Best is 11-21,
of course.
WL: Again. Any. Honest! An aim can do without will and can also use it to its
best advantage. But from here on is where you've got to pay attention.
SP: LOW. Keep it below 9 if possible. Below 7 is better.
DF: HIGH. 21 is always best, but 17 works okay, too.
So now you have a rollup with a low speed and a high deftness and it doesn't look
like much else. You've got a good aimed blow. Yes!
Examples of "do" design aims:
1) 7-5-12-21-11-7-21
2) 11-16-6-21-9-4-17
3) 10-15-6-17-9-6-21
4) 13-9-5-17-17-6-17
5) 11-5-10-11-21-5-21
6) 8-10-9-17-15-4-21
7) 5-10-7-17-17-11-17
8) 12-12-7-21-9-6-17
9) 7-11-8-11-21-5-21
10) 9-14-8-15-17-4-17
Ten is a good, round number. 1-4 are Immortal. All have winning records. Most
of them beat lungers in one minute. The low-con ones have the most trouble, because
they can't take a hit--if they get hit, they go down. Fortunately, that's only killed
a few of mine (the dead ones I won't list just now, since it's so depressing).
Examples of "don't" design aims, unless you're as insane as me or much more
experienced in your aimed blow running:
1) 17-5-5-11-17-9-21 (beat the DA three times before he was killed--he gets a
special place at #1)
2) 13-8-12-11-11-18-11
3) 11-12-6-21-13-8-13
4) 11-12-12-17-11-4-17
5) 12-7-18-13-13-5-16 (my first)
6) 11-14-7-9-17-9-17
7) 9-11-9-17-11-10-17
There's certainly more "don'ts" than dos, but those are ones I actually have
played somewhere; 2-5 are immortal, with usually 50% records except for the 11 DF (who
is in permanent retirement). He came along early in my aimed blow career, when I was
making EVERY rollup into an aimed blow to see for myself what worked and what didn't.
That didn't. Some of the mortal ones I'm still running, and they do well enough, but
as I said, until you get a little experience there are some things you may not want to
try unless, like me, you want to see what happens for yourself. <grin>
Now for strategy. This is probably the most important thing you'll give your
aim.
Weapons: Scimitar, unless they don't have the strength for it, in which case, dual
daggers. Longsword is next, then fists, then quarterstaff. You need an 11 ST for
longsword, so that's probably not always realistic. If your aim likes to fight with
his fists, you can let him, but I'd advise waiting until he's got some experience, and
you know your opponent isn't much on armor and parrying, because you can do yourself
some serious damage on the parries. Quarterstaff is a two-handed weapon, so bear that
in mind if you use it.
Armor: Keep it light, no more than ARM/H, and then only if you're worried about your
opponent. An aimed blow is a fast, offensive warrior--don't load him down.
Strategy:
10 8 8 6 6 6 10
10 2 2 1 1 1 10
1 --------------------------------------------------------- >
LL --------------------------------------------------------- >
HE --------------------------------------------------------- >
D
That's a good, all-purpose, general strategy. Some aims will want to play around with
it, and you let them--see what they like. But, and this is VERY important: keep that
KD low! An aimed blow relies on his control and his accuracy, and higher KDs will
cause them to lose a lot of that. If you're bloodthirsty, change the attack location
to the head. I recommend the legs for knockdowns. Either way, your aim will attack
THAT LOCATION, over and over again, until he has defeated his opponent, and very
decisively, from total parries (the classic aimed blow opponent) to lungers (the
classic aimed blow enemy). Remember: the aimed blow is an OFFENSIVE style. He has
some finesse, but he is a brutal and efficient warrior. Keep him in control; he'll
win. You can also play with desperation, but for me just dropping the first minute
tactic often works just fine. As for the use of decise, as always, it's up to the
manager, but decise will help keep your aim from "standing around looking for an
opening" in the first minute. Get him moving.
As always, experiment, find what works for you, and have fun.
Raf
Lord Protector
Ivory League
Manager of Tex's Rangers (51, 100, 101), Assassins (40, 105), Impressionists (27,
105), The Damned (30, 105, 101, 102), etc.
The Mechanics of Death
By Sir Jessie Jest
Greetings, joy and happiness to everyone! This article discusses the mechanics
involved when a warrior dies in combat. It will give the reader a better knowledge of
how a warrior actually gets killed in combat.
Here is how a warrior dies... The Facts) ...in fact, get out a dead warrior's
last fight so you can follow me. To start the process of death, a warrior must first
fail to make a death roll. Let's say the death roll is 20 or less out of 100 to fail
that roll for this example.
There are 2 ways a warrior can be forced to make that Death Roll.
1. The vitals roll.
2. The second is when you run out of hit points, which is called the "infirmary roll."
The vitals roll -- every time a warrior gets hit in a vital area you make a
vitals roll. Lets say that you fail on a 1-15% out of 100. If you get hit in the
head, chest, or abdomen, you will roll the vitals percent. If you roll 15 or less you
must make the death roll to determine if the warrior was killed. Now look at the
fight with your dead warrior on it...look for the death intent statement, it will say
something like, "Trying to make this into a death match, or seeks death of his
opponent, etc. etc." (there are a lot of them) that is telling you that your warrior
was forced to make a death roll.
Now comes the scary part: if you fail the death roll your warrior dies. But the
program does not kill you immediately because you still have hit points left. So what
happens next is that you will get normal attacks and damages that hit your character
automatically in the vitals until yours hit points run out. Then it will say your
warrior is dead. Remember that it will be normal hits to the vitals, not crits or
extra damage remarks. If your warrior dodges, crit attacks , parries, has extra
damage remarks or anything else EXCEPT a normal hit to the vitals, the sentence
following right after the death intent statement comes up, then he made his death roll
successfully and the fight continues. You can have many death intent statements come
up in one fight, depending on the number of times you hit a vital. You won't get one
every time, only when you fail the vitals roll. And your warrior will have to roll
the death roll every time you fail the vitals roll to see if he is killed or not.
EXAMPLE:
INFERNO leaps to his left!
INFERNO's scimitar lunges with awesome cutting power!
NULN takes an upper body hit!
NULN is badly hurt!
NULN is becoming FRANTIC!!!!
INFERNO's scimitar lunges with awesome cutting power!
NULN is struck on the left rib cage!
What a devastating attack!!
NULN is dangerously stunned!
INFERNO is trying to make this a death match----(Death Intent)
INFERNO slashes an attack with his scimitar---(Normal Attack)
NULN is struck on the side of the HEAD!---(Vital Hit)
INFERNO slashes with his scimitar
NULN is wounded in the upper chest.
INFERNO slashes with his scimitar
NULN is hit in the forehead!
NULN curses the gods in frustration!
NULN falls LIFELESS to the ground!
INFERNO has won the duel!
INFERNO laughs and says, "What a loser!"
As you see, if you fail the vitals roll, and then fail the death roll, you will
get normal attacks to the vital areas until all of your warrior's hit points are gone.
All of your dead warriors that have died from DEATH INTENT statements will have those
three things... death intent statement, then normal attack, then hits to the vitals
until all hit points are gone. Then you will get some sort of, "falls over dead
statement." In the past, if you failed the death intent statement roll, the program
would just skip all the stuff that was in between the death intent statement and the
falls over dead statement. It would say something like this:
INFERNO seeks the death of his opponent
NULN falls to the ground lifeless
INFERNO has won the duel.
But they changed it to make death more dramatic.
The second way your warrior is forced to make a death roll is if your warrior
runs out of hit points during or after the fight has ended. This roll is called the
infirmary roll and can happen in or out of combat, and does not matter where your
warrior gets hit. If your warrior has taken many hits, that reduces his hit point
total below the preset percentage... lets say it 5% of your total hit points... then
he will make an infirmary roll. If you fail the infirmary roll, you then make the
death roll to determine if your warrior has died. In combat, you will read that you
died from serious wounds or something to that effect. After a fight is over, the
program checks to see if your warrior has fallen below that preset percentage of hit
points, if you have, you will make an infirmary roll. If you fail the infirmary roll,
an infirmary statement will appear at the bottom of your fight letting you know if
your warrior failed the death roll that comes after that. Sometimes you can die in
combat without a death intent statement that comes up during the battle . This is a
good example of an infirmary roll failure in combat from low hit points, triggering
the death roll which actually is the roll that kills your warrior. In some battles
you can get hit several times in the vitals, have several death intent statements come
up, make every roll successfully and still die from lack of hit points (i.e.: fail the
infirmary roll).
A simple way to think of this is the 2 ways are : 1. vitals roll, which deals
with getting hit in the head, chest, or abs and dying when a death intent statement
comes up. Or # 2. infirmary roll, which deals with dying from lack of hit points,
and does not use the death intent statement. I'd say about 90% of all deaths are by
death intent statement because of a failed vitals roll. Only a small percentage die
from the infirmary roll in or out of combat.
Well, that's it. These are facts, not theories. You can check this out with all
your dead warriors, and you will learn there are NO exceptions. Those percentages I
used up there are just made up, I have no way of knowing what they really are.
Now I have formed theory regarding KD or kill desire. I do not believe KD has
anything to do with a warrior dying, but is rather a tool to determine your warrior's
aggressiveness in combat. In other words the timing of his blows, his shot
selection, and other such things. For example: The higher the KD the wilder he is
with his shots, and easier to feint, dodge, parry and riposte. Some styles like Abs
(Aimed Blows) fight better with a 1 KD because they are very selective with their
shots. Most of the other offensive styles function well between 5-7 KD. Any more
than that is just a waste of endurance and has a negative effect on your warrior's
performance in battle, in my opinion.
Well that's it for now. If you would like to chat sometime drop me a diplo at
Jessie's Kids in DM 60 (yes, I've come out of retirement) ;) May the axe fall in your
favor!
Cheerio!
Sir Jessie Jest,
Lord of Puns, and Master of Laughter.
Troll-Bred Bashers
The Bashing attack is not, as many of you may have noticed, one of the dominant
styles in Duelmasters. There are two reasons for this; one of which I will cover
here, the other I will cover in an accompanying article. I will preface this article
on Bashing attack design and strategy by saying that I have been playing Duelmasters
for two years, and I have spent most of this time experimenting with and perfecting
the Bashing Attack. In my opinion, a Basher needs to possess a monumentally high
attack percentage, with decisiveness and initiative not far behind. What follows is
designed to achieve the desired results.
Let's get right down to business. First, the stats:
PERFECT
ST: 13-17 15
CN: 3-5 3
SZ: 6-9 6
WT: 17-21 21
WL: 17-21 21
SP: 5-9 5
DF: 11-15 13
Here's why:
Strength is arguably the most important attribute for a basher. A basher with a
high strength can virtually be assured of a reasonably high attack. however, excess
strength takes away points from other vital areas and, as you will see, this Basher
will not want for attack. A 13 strength gives the Basher most of the good Bashing
weapons.
Constitution is absolutely unimportant to any offensive styles warrior. Bashers,
and for that matter, offensives in general, should be designed to dish out damage, not
absorb it. If you are designing a Basher to absorb damage, then you are designing him
wrong.
Size is an attribute that this game system does not handle well. As we all know,
too large a size means that you do not have enough points to allocate to the other
attributes. You would think logically that a Basher would need a large size. I am
not talking about logic. I am talking about winning within the parameters of this
game system. I give a minimum size of 6 since this is the smallest size that can
achieve "great damage with a blow."
Wit, in my opinion, is the most important attribute for every style. This is
strictly my opinion and you do not have to agree with me. Where Bashers are concerned
however, a Basher without very high wit is garbage. High wit will greatly effect a
Basher's initial attack, decisiveness, and initiative. My research has led me to the
conclusion that a Basher's initiative is primarily a function of wit. high wit also
ensures that the Basher will train consistently. Also, a Basher with a high wit can
expect an initial initiative rating somewhere in the 50-60% range. Note that speed is
also a modifier for initiative.
Will is another attribute that the Basher cannot do without. Will affects a
Basher's attack and decisiveness, and is responsible for, in conjunction with
strength, giving the Basher normal endurance, despite the pitifully low constitution.
Speed has almost no affect on a basher. I have seen many high speed Bashers, and
I can tell with 100% certainty that Bashers do not derive strong benefit from speed.
Slasher, strikers, and to a lesser extent, Lungers, all derive noticeable benefit from
speed. I am not saying that a 5 speed Basher will be equally as fast (initially) as a
19 speed Basher, but I am saying that a Basher can derive greater benefit by placing
points in other areas. This Basher will drive his decisiveness from the high wit/will
combinations: 21-21-5; 19-19-7; 17-17-9. These combinations, or something similar,
will generate an initial decisiveness rating of about 50%.
Deftness is very important to a Basher. The strength/wit/will/deftness
combination is where this Basher will generate the awesome attack percentage and his
attacking precision. A Basher with the aforementioned minimums in
strength/wit/will/deftness can expect to achieve an initial attack rating between 60-
80%. A 13 deftness will also allow the use of my favorite weapon, the morning star.
In the hands of a Basher, this is a devastating weapon.
Now that you know how to design a Basher, here's how they should be run.
This strategy should be used vs. offensive styled warriors:
1 2 3 4 5 6 Desp
10 10 10 10 10 10 10
10 3 3 3 3 3 10
7 7 7 7 7 7 7
HE HE HE HE HE HE HE
HE HE HE HE HE HE HE
D B D
The offensive effort is self-explanatory. If you are not trying to destroy your
opponent, then you should not be running a Basher. The activity level requires some
explanation. Bashers, as you might expect, perform better with a low activity level.
This is because the Bashing attack style is a series of overhand, overpowering blows
which are designed to deliver maximum hitting power. Running around like a
decapitated chicken would appear to be counterproductive. Here is the key. The 10
activity level in minute one is designed to help you get the jump on another offensive
warrior. If you do get the jump, you will win. Even if you are hurting the Basher's
attack percentage, how many offensive warriors do you know of that will be able to
parry or dodge this Basher's attack? NONE. Therefore, the 10 activity level in
minute one is justified. The decisiveness tactic in minute one is also there to help
you get the first shot off. Assuming you get the jump in minute one and the fight
somehow manages to make it into minute two, that's where the bash tactic comes in.
You enter minute two with the initiative, land a bash modified head shot into the poor
slob in front of you, and down he goes!!! Minutes 3-6 are basically superfluous as
not many fights will go that far. 10-3-7 allows the basher to do what he does best.
The theory behind the desperation configuration is the same as that for minute one.
Since the bashing attack is a downward motion, attacking the head is logical to say
the least. Modify this to the chest if you suspect that you adversary is protecting
his head. Defending your head is simply there to ensure that you hold your hands up
high. My reasoning is that I am simply trying not to interfere with the Basher's
attack, as opposed to seriously trying to defend myself. Against defensive warriors,
change minute one to 10-3-7 with no tactics: i.e., let the basher do what he does
best. I have only lost one fight to a defensive styled warrior with my best basher,
and that was MY fault. Minute two can be left the same, or you can drop the bash
tactic. I am tempted to leave the desperation minute the same. If you are desperate,
it probably means you were just hit. This design cannot take getting hit. You need
to go berserk in order to regain the initiative.
A high quality Basher should have no trouble with Parry-XYZ's and TPs. Against
scum try 7-1-7 with the bash tactic. You should have no trouble blasting attacks
through the feeble parries of a scum warrior, and the relatively slow (for a basher)
tempo will allow you to keep it up for 3-4 minutes, which WILL be more than enough
time to demolish even the most stubborn APA, F, ME, ME 1-1-1-P Total Parry. Let me
also mention that the bash tactic should never be used against PRs.
Last, but by no means least, is what to wear. Armor should be APL, ALE, or none
at all. DO NOT strap this basher into a suit of plate armor. The Bashing Attack,
despite what some other managers say (even those self-proclaimed "highly experienced"
manager who relentlessly brag about their 600+ winning percentages who only run
defensives, SCUM, and lungers) is a quick style. The armor should be correspondingly
light to allow the basher to get the jump on his opponent. The same theory applies to
weapon selection. Try using the QS, MS, of the WH. The GA and MA should only be used
against slower offensives of defensive styled warriors. Again, the key here is
quickness. THIS basher is designed to win his fights, with his tremendous attack
percentage, not with his tremendous damage bonus.
This article has been brought to you by.....
Mark Schwartz
280 Middlesex Road aka Troll King
Matawan, NJ 07747 mgr. Troll Lords
201-583-5150 Arena #36 Jhans
HOW TO BUILD A BETTER WARRIOR (version Y2k)
I'm sure that by now everyone has had enough of those "perfect" warrior advice
articles. And, while they are useful to a point, it's hard to apply their advice to
the hordes of non-perfect warriors we get every day. Hence, this article is for the
other 99% non-perfect warriors. The design ideas presented here have been valid over
the course of my 15 years of experience with this game, with proven success at all
levels of the game.
There are several things to think about when designing a warrior. First is
fighting style. Second is longevity. Third is weapon suitability. Fourth is
physical capabilities. Fifth is trainability. While I will discuss these separately
in this article, they must be thought about simultaneously in order to get the maximum
potential from each and every roll-up.
Fighting style is the most important decision you'll make about your new warrior.
Consider all possibilities. Sometimes you will need to experiment with the numbers,
play around with several different combinations, before picking the best style. The
offensive styles are lunging, slashing, striking, aimed blow, and bashing. The
defensive styles are total parry, parry riposte, and parry strike. The mixed styles
are wall of steel and parry-lunge. The offensive warriors have lots of attack ability
and little defense (except lungers). Their key attributes are usually will (for
endurance and attack skills) and strength (for damage capability and attack skills).
High wit and deftness are also high on the list as they both give a lot of skills,
particularly attack skills. [Tip #1: Never design an aimed blow with less than a 21
deftness.] The defensives have lots of defensive ability (particularly parry) but
poor attack. Their key attributes are usually will (for damage taking and parry
skills) and constitution (for damage taking). Again, extra wit and deftness is highly
desirable for the extra skills. [Tip #2: Keep wit as low as possible on scum
warriors.] The mixed styles have pretty good attack and pretty good defense, making
them among the most formidable warriors in the game. Their key attributes are will
(what a surprise!) and whatever gets them to good cut-offs, because mixed styles use
defensive and offensive skills with equal effectiveness. If you notice, speed doesn't
come up as an important stat for any style, but it is probably best utilized by the
offensive styles. I tend to like warriors that will perform well (as opposed to
looking good but still losing), so I tend to design a lot of offensive and mixed
styles.
Longevity is another design concern. The main decision here is whether your new
warrior will have a long, Gateway oriented career, or have a shorter life span. If
shorter, how much shorter? In general, for maximum learning and maximum training,
you'll want to add as much as possible to wit and will. If you envision Gateway god-
hood in your warrior's future, then designing him with a low wit or will has only a
minor effect; it merely takes a little longer for him to reach his full potential. If
your warrior has a sandbagging champions future, then you'll want to add as much wit
as possible to get him competitive as soon as possible. For an ADM title shot, you'll
want to build in some easy stat trains that give lots of skills. For a short, rookies
or novices oriented career, you'll probably want a high will because you'll most
likely be looking for quick, significant stat trains. The point is, decide when the
warrior is born how long his career will be, and you will be better able to maximize
his potential towards that ultimate target.
Weapon suitability must also be considered. As is well known, not all weapons
are well-suited to all styles, and every warrior has a favorite weapon. It is
important to design a warrior so he will be able to use the significant weapons well-
suited to his style. It should not take more than a couple stat trains to get your
warrior well-suited to some good weapons. (Consult available charts for weapon
suitability.) I feel that it is important to be well suited to several weapons of
your style. This gives you the opportunity to change and surprise your foes. If your
warrior lacks the attributes to use key weapons of his style, his effectiveness will
be diminished.
Physical capabilities is an often overlooked aspect of warrior design. The three
main areas of concern are endurance, the ability to inflict damage, and the ability to
take damage. At least one of these should be at the "good" level or above, and the
more the better. There is usually a trade-off between designing for skills and
designing for physical attributes. The trick is to maximize both. Always evaluate
the possibility of adding to strength over deftness. The damage capability gained
will usually out-weigh the difference in skills. Endurance is usually a key factor in
an offensive warrior's ability to defeat a defensive. Conversely, the ability to take
damage is usually a key factor in a defensive warrior's ability to defeat an
offensive. Again, use the available charts to design your warrior to reach the
desired physical levels with a minimum of stat trains.
The fastest way for a new warrior to improve is to learn skills with a 21 wit.
With a 21 wit, you can usually average three skills per fight for your first 20 fights
or so. Going into an adepts tournament with 60+ skills is very good. The higher the
wit, the more skills your warrior will learn, so keep this in mind when designing your
potential tournament champions.
A number of managers advocate early stat trains that burn skills. I only do this
in the most severe of cases, like a 3 wit scummy warrior. The main reason I don't do
this is because any warrior I want to fight beyond novices is going to need as many
skills as he can get. In addition, if a warrior burns skills early, he'll end up with
less than his contemporaries at the time they both max skills. This leads to
diminished skill levels when the warrior makes a TC run in the Freshmen, ADM, or
Eligibles class, and to a protracted struggle to get the warrior inducted to
Primus/Gateway when the time comes. It also eliminates the option to sandbag in the
champions since your burned warrior will never have the skills to compete with non-
burned warriors.
However, I do design for trainability. I like my warriors to have a shot at a TC
in the ADM or Eligibles class, so I will purposely leave deftness at 9, counting on
the quick, easy trains once all my skills are learned. You can do the same in wit,
will, speed, and even strength; leave the starting stat a couple points below a level
with significant skills, then train those stats when you make your TC run. Of course,
since you're planning on making this training run in Advanced Duelmasters, the best
stat for trainability is a 21. Every train past 21 will give you quick, significant,
valuable skills.
Of course, any set of design rules or guidelines will have its exceptions. There
are many good warriors out there who did not follow any of the rules outlined above,
but there are many, many more dead ones. So, if you follow these rules most of the
time, most of your warriors will be winners.
That said, let's do a couple examples. First, we'll redesign the legendary Broke
Stroker.
ST 10 + 0 = 10
CN 10 + 0 = 10
SZ 10
WT 9 + 6 = 15
WL 9 + 6 = 15
SP 11 + 0 = 11
DF 11 + 2 = 13
Style: Lunger
Comments: His wit and will are high enough to make him a viable long-term warrior.
He starts well-suited to the short spear, and is only one strength train away from
longsword suitability. He's got enough con to take a hit, and he'll likely also get
good damage with his first strength train, if not on the original overview.
ST 5 + 4 = 9
CN 8 + 0 = 8
SZ 14
WT 8 + 5 = 13
WL 13 + 4 = 17
SP 10 + 0 = 10
DF 12 + 1 = 13
Style: Slasher
Comments: He starts well-suited to scimitar, and has enough ST, CN, & WL to get
normal endurance. He has a good shot at good damage to start with, and if not, it's
only a train or two away.
ST 12 + 5 = 17
CN 8 + 1 = 9
SZ 7
WT 11 + 6 = 17
WL 8 + 1 = 9
SP 14 + 0 = 14
DF 10 + 1 = 11
Style: Striker
Comments: This low will wonder needs help to get normal endurance, thus the high
strength. It gives the additional bonus of guaranteeing good damage on a relatively
small warrior. The 11 deftness gives him suitability to almost every weapon.
Now it's time for you to go forth and design your own godlings (or is that
"doglings"?). Armed with these guidelines, you too can have your share of Broke
Strokers in Advanced Duelmasters. Good luck, and may the gods guide your blows
straight and true!
-- Neon Necromancer
(DM 1: Care Less Bears; DM 18: Mad Scientists;
other random teams and 100ish ADM warriors)