DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 05/31/2014 Duedate: 06/13/2014
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-404
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
DEL CURVE
THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
(93-9535) [7-3-0,66]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
DEL CURVE CUTTING EDGE
THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) SPORTS FLICKS (1651)
(93-9535) [7-3-0,66] (93-9584) [2-1-1,29]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
SHADY LANE DEAN END
THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
(93-9537) [6-4-1,45] (93-9539) [5-5-0,20]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
BB BASEBALL MONEY (1650)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. SPORTS FLICKS (1651) 48
2. THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) 27 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
3. ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649) 16 Unchartered Team
4. X-MEN! (1644) 16
5. BB BASEBALL MONEY (1650) 13 BB BASEBALL MONEY (1650)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 1*BB BASEBALL MONEY (1650) 12 3 0 80.0 1/ 2*BB BASEBALL MONEY (1650) 12 3 0
2/ 3*SPORTS FLICKS (1651) 11 4 3 73.3 2/ 3*SPORTS FLICKS (1651) 11 4 3
3/ 2 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) 31 19 1 62.0 3/ 1 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) 11 4 0
4/ 4*BEYOND THE WALL (1647) 11 14 0 44.0 4/ 5*BEYOND THE WALL (1647) 7 8 0
5/ 5*X-MEN! (1644) 14 21 1 40.0 5/ 7*SCORPIONS (1646) 6 9 0
6- 7*ALLADIN'S ELITE (1648) 3 7 0 30.0 6/ 4*X-MEN! (1644) 5 10 0
7/ 8*SCORPIONS (1646) 6 17 0 26.1 7/ 9*NEO POLITY (1652) 2 8 0
8/ 6*ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649) 4 12 1 25.0 8/ 6*ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649) 2 11 0
9/ 9*NEO POLITY (1652) 2 8 0 20.0 9- 8*ALLADIN'S ELITE (1648) 1 4 0
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
FINDING FAVORITE WEAPONS -- THE CONSORTIUM WAY
Does your battle axe "slice across with tree-felling power"? Or your long sword
unleash a "piercingly accurate thrust"? Or your quarterstaff attack with "berserker
fury"? No? Read on.
A common discussion in D2 is about finding a favorite weapon. Why would anyone
want to find the warrior's favorite weapon? Why? Simply because a warrior usually
fights much better with his favorite in his hand.
Upon graduation to The Isle (Lord Protectorship) each warrior is informed of his
birthright favorites. (Called "faves" by most of us.) That includes, the favorite
weapon, the favorite rhythm, and with luck some favorite tactics and/or tactic
learns. Warriors also usually fight better when they are on their "faves".
This article is only about the weapon part of a warrior's faves. If one could
fine a warrior's faves early, one would presumably be giving their warrior a nice
advantage in fights. So how does one find a favorite weapon? Actually, you cannot
"find" it, merely surmise it from the data.
Consortium managers tend to find their warrior's fave weapon appx 40-50% of the
time before graduation. (Some of the time, the fave is just not discernable; some of
the time, the estimate is just plain incorrect.)
The Consortium method is as follows:
Chart/record these numbers from each fight:
Weapon used
Swings
Crits
Extra value hits
Then record the data by weapon as follows: crits/swings/EHV. For example, a striker
may have tried three weapons with these results:
BS 0-21-1
SS 3-13-2
SC 1-19-0
The more crits per swing, the more likely you have found a favorite weapon. (Bear in
mind that a favorite weapon is not the ONLY reason one crits more. Factors like
experience, attack skill quantity, strategy levels, etc, also come in to play.) Even
if it is not the fave, it is certainly a better performing weapon, and ought to be
considered for a lot of use. It is thought that if a weapon is performing well, the
favorite weapon is probably that weapon, or one of a similar type. For example, the
SS above looks most favorable, so there is some possibility that the fave is that SS
or another lunging type weapon, such as a LO or LS.
One of the more common questions is "Just what is a crit?" We Consortiumites
define it as a swing which "reads with extra ferociousness"! For example, using the
SS above - lunges with the SS is a normal swing while "shortspear moves like angry
lightning is a critical swing.
To alleviate any questions of what is a critical swing, below are listed the
best active list of criticals per weapon. The Weapons Criticals List
....................................
Broadsword (BS)
Brings his BROADSWORD down in a horrible cleaving motion!
BROADSWORD arcs from overhead with maximum momentum and force!
BROADSWORD whips horizontally across with a deadly timed power!
Charges forward, BROADSWORD whistling through the air!
Hacks at her (BROADSWORD at her) foe with untamed berserker energy!
Makes a ferocious backhanded assault with her BROADSWORD!
Sweeps his BROADSWORD in a sudden, vicious assault!
Unleashes a horrifying attack (with her BROADSWORD), straining every muscle for
power!
Battle Axe (BA)
Brings his BATLE AXE hurtling down with devastating force!
Brings his BATTLE AXE slicing across with tree-felling power!
BATTLE AXE arcs forward with a terrible destructive energy!
Makes an all out cleaving attack with his BATTLE AXE!
Slices up wickedly with the gleaming blade of his BATTLE AXE!
Sweeps his BATTLE AXE in a deadly assault on his opponent!
Unleashes an incredible full-bladed chop with her BATTLE AXE!
Whirls his BATTLE AXE from overhead, attacking with demonic fury!
Dagger (DA)
Attacks, his DAGGER wielded with an unnerving precision!
DAGGER flashes as he takes a sudden vicious slash at his foe!
DAGGER strikes instantly as his opponent leaves an opening!
Drives his DAGGER in a forward slash!
Ducks low and takes a wicked upward slice with his DAGGER!
Leaps forward, DAGGER thrusting with malevolence and surety!
Makes a cruel and cunning underhanded attack with his DAGGER!
Strikes overhead, DAGGER ripping with incredible swiftness!
Whirls and strikes backhandedly with his DAGGER!
Epee (EP)
Attacks from low guard, EPEE slicing wickedly upwards at her foe!
Blurs forward, EPEE stabbing suddenly with blinding speed!
Dives forward, EPEE stabbing repeatedly with his charge!
EPEE leaps forward suddenly from a high guard overhead!
EPEE strikes forward in a clash of cold steel!
Lunges forward, EPEE thrusting with incredible speed and accuracy!
Makes an incredible flesh-splitting slash with her EPEE!
Whips his EPEE blade back and forth as if to slash his foe to ribbons!
Fist (FI)
Attacks, FISTS punching with piston-like horse felling power!
Attacks his foe with a pinpoint accurate ELBOW!
Dives forward, FISTS driving at his opponent with menacing fury!
Explodes into a deadly double OPEN HAND strike!
HANDS flash forward, jabbing fiercely at her surprised foe!
Hammers down a ferocious FOREARM smash!
Hauls back and spins into a near-lethal ELBOW smash!
PUNCHES from the waist with an unbelievable quickness!
Spins around and hammers a tremendous ELBOW smash towards his foe!
Throws a rock-fisted PUNCH of incredible felling power
Kick (FI)
LEG smashes outward, kicking with tremendous force!
Throws a piston like SIDE KICK at his opponent!
Leaps into the air taking a vicious flying KICK at his opponent!
Unleashes a bone-crushing KICK of incredible power!
Focuses all of his skill and power into a devastating KICK!
Howls as he snaps a full force KICK at his foe!
Spins, throwing a devastating WHEEL KICK at his foe!
Attacks, LEGS flying in an unbelievable double footed kick!
Great Axe (GA)
Attacks, bringing his GREAT AXE down with bone-splitting force!
Brings his GREAT AXE ferociously slashing downward from his head!
Cuts powerfully forward, his full weight behind his GREAT AXE!
GREAT AXE slices at his opponent with concentrated hatred!
Makes a malevolent attack with his gleaming GREAT AXE!
Muscles ripple as his GREAT AXE cuts through the air!
Throws his entire weight behind his GREAT AXE in a mighty assault!
Greatsword (GS)
Attacks, bringing his GREATSWORD down with bone-splitting force!
Attacks, swinging his GREATSWORD with untamed savagery!
Brings his GREATSWORD hurtling downward from above his head!
Brings his GREATSWORD smashing outward in a vicious attack!
Hacks mercilessly at his foe with his GERATSWORD!
GREATSWORD arcs forward in an attempt to cut his foe in two!
Muscles ripple as he makes a powerful swing with his GREATSWORD!
Whirls his GREATSWORD overhead, attempting a bashing attack!
Halberd (HL)
Attacks, HALBARD sweeping with devastating momentum!
Batters mercilessly at his foe with his HALBARD!
Flashes outward, attacking with horrifying power!
Grimly unleashes an incredible attack with his HALBARD!
Hurls his body behind a full length sweep with his HALBARD!
Jerks her HALBARD brutally upward in a wicked thrusting arc!
Lashes out with the full length of her HALBARD!
Powers her HALBARD to smash at her foe with untamed fury!
Smashes her HALBARD down executioner-style from overhead!
Hatchet (HA)
Backhands mightily, revealing the flash of her HATCHET spike!
Chops savagely downward with her trusty HATCHET!
Hacks viciously downward with the blade of his HATCHET!
HATCHET flashes with snake-like speed and accuracy!
Lashes out brilliantly with his HATCHET!
Makes a HATCHET swing that takes the crowd's breath away!
Twists his HATCHET aiming a malevolent chop at the defense!
Unleashes a HATCHET attack that absolutely stuns the fans!
Large Shield (LG)
Barrels forward, LARGE SHIELD smashing before him as the crowd roars!
Cruelly attempts to pulverize his foe with his LARGE SHIELD!
Cruelly attempts to batter her foe with her LARGE SHIELD!
Rest same as other shields
Longspear (LS)
Catapults forward, LONGSPEAR flashing in a deadly assault!
Charges forward, LONG SPEAR thrusting with murderous power!
Is making a deliberate attempt to impale her enemy with her LONG SPEAR!
LONG SPEAR strikes forward with incredible swiftness and power!
Lunges into an attack, his LONGSPEAR flying with incredible force!
Makes a devastating thrust, LONG SPEAR blurring in the attack!
Makes a lighting thrust with his LONGSPEAR! (*)
Unleashes a murderous thrust that brings the crowd to their feet!
Longsword (LO)
Catapults forward, LONGSWORD stabbing cruelly at his foe!
Feints, then springs viciously forward with his LONGSWORD!
Lashes out with her longsword in a murderous thrust!
Leaps into an incredible flesh-splitting lunge with his LONGSWORD!
LONGSWORD lunges forward with a flash of cold, cruel steel!
Strikes forward with his LONGSWORD, all his weight behind his blow!
Thrusts her LONGSWORD, brilliantly timing her opponent's motion!
Thrusts his LONGSWORD, cleverly timing his opponent's motion!
Thrusts his LONGSWORD forward with an unbelievably deadly force!
Unleashes her LONGSWORD in a piercingly accurate thrust!
Maul (ML)
Bats murderously at his foe with his MAUL!
Bludgeons his MAUL with terrible savagery!
Makes a devastatingly powerful sweep with his MAUL!
Smashes furiously downward with his MAUL!
Sweeps his MAUL in a tremendous bone-crushing arc!
Throws his weight behind is MAUL in an all-out assault!
Medium Shield (ME)
Barrels forward, MEDIUM SHIELD smashing before him as the crowd roars!
Cruelly attempts to batter his foe with his MEDIUM SHIELD!
Cruelly attempts to flatten his foe with his MEDIUM SHIELD!
Smashes his MEDIUM SHIELD wickedly forward toward his foe!
Sweeps his MEDIUM SHIELD in a sudden, unexpected assault!
Runs forward, seeking to pummel his opponent with his MEDIUM SHIELD!
Morning Star (MS)
Attacks, whirling the MORNING STAR with tremendous Force!
Attempts to smash at his opponent with his MORNING STAR!
Cleverly tries to break her foes defense with her MORNING STAR!
MORNING STAR whines with unstoppable velocity!
Snaps the MORNING STAR forward in a deadly assault!
Swings his MORNING STAR with deadly intent at his target
Whips his MORNING STAR downward in a remorseless arc!
Whips his MORNING STAR downward in a vicious power smash!
Quarterstaff (QS)
Bats murderously at his foe with his QUARTERSTAFF!
Brings his QUARTERSTAFF smashing ferociously downward!
Impresses everyone with a masterful thrust of her QUARTERSTAFF!
Jabs murderously at her foe with the tip of her QUARTERSTAFF!
Lashes out with her QUARTERSTAFF in a lightning quick assault!
Surprises everyone with a masterful swing of his QUARTERSTAFF!
Sweeps her QUARTERSTAFF in a tremendous bone-crushing arc!
Whirls her QUARTERSTAFF, attacking with berserker fury!
Scimitar (SC)
Attacks, her SCIMITAR wielded with malevolence!
Ducks low, her SCIMITAR slicing suddenly upwards!
Leaps forward, swinging her SCIMITAR into a veritable wall of blades!
Leaps into the air, bringing his SCIMITAR down in a powerful slash!
Leaps into the air in a furious slash!
Leaps into the air taking a furious slash with his SCIMITAR!
makes a brilliant twisting thrust with his SCIMITAR!
times a devilish cunning attack, SCIMITAR leaping with deadly force!
twists into a tremendous cutting attack with his SCIMITAR!
Turns into a furious whirlwind of blades as her SCIMITAR leaps forward!
SCIMITAR lunges with awesome cutting power!
Small Shield (SM)
Attempts to swat at his foe with his SMALL SHIELD! (NOT a crit)
Barrels forward, SMALL SHIELD smashing before him as the crowd roars!
Charges forward, trying to run down his opponent with his SMALL SHIELD!
Cruelly attempts to batter his foe with his SMALL SHIELD!
Cruelly attempts to bruise his foe with his SMALL SHIELD!
Runs forward, seeking to pummel his opponent with his SMALL SHIELD!
Sweeps his SMALL SHIELD in a clever backhanded assault!
Sweeps his SMALL SHIELD in a sudden, unexpected assault!
Smashes his SMALL SHIELD wickedly forward towards his foe!
Short Spear (SS)
Dives into a powerful lunge with its SHORT SPEAR!
Lunges past its foe and brings its SHORT SPEAR into a brilliant backhand stab!
Makes a menacing underthrust with her SHORT SPEAR!
Rushes her foe, her SHORT SPEAR underthrusting malevolently!
SHORT SPEAR leaps forward with incredible swiftness and power!
SHORT SPEAR moves like angry lightning!
SHORT SPEAR strikes with blinding quickness!
Springs with full extension with her SHORT SPEAR!
Shortsword (SH)
Focuses his energy in a powerful upward stab with his SHORTSWORD!
Hacks viciously downward with her SHORTSWORD!
Lashes his SHORTSWORD cruelly at a break in the defense!
Makes a clever stab with his SHORTSWORD that stuns the fans!
Stabs powerfully upward with his SHORTSWORD!
Thrusts his SHORTSWORD forward with his full force behind it!
Thrusts his SHORTSWORD in a lightning move at the defense!
SHORTSWORD leaps forward in a bloodthirsty assault on his foe!
Sweeps his SHORTSWORD in a tight, powerful slash!
War Flail (WF) "Whiffle"
Attacks, his WAR FLAIL whistling with a frightful acceleration!
Cracks his cruelly barbed WAR FLAIL with tremendous force!
Hauls back and power smashes with his WAR FLAIL!
Lashes out, WAR FLAIL chains curling with a hideous power!
Takes a tremendous swipe at his foe with his WAR FLAIL!
Sweeps his WAR FLAIL in a vicious flailing arc!
Unleashes a murderous full force attack with his WAR FLAIL!
WAR FLAIL screams in the rush of this assault!
War Hammer (WH)
Attacks, his WARHAMMER wielded with pile-driving precision!
Backhands, swinging his HAMMER-SPIKE savagely at his target!
Brings his WAR HAMMER crashing downward with horrific power!
Is attempting to smash through the defense with his WAR HAMMER!
Launches a brilliant attack with his WAR HAMMER!
Makes a lightning-quick backhand smash with her WAR HAMMER!
Sweeps his WAR HAMMER downward in a crudely brutal smash!
Sweeps his WAR HAMMER downward in a vicious power slash!
Takes a tremendous swipe at his foe with his WAR HAMMER!
Good luck in your weapon selection decision making as it just may make the
difference between a win or a loss.
The Producer of Sports Flicks (Consortium affiliated)
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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 749): EXPENDABLE YOUTH of KARNHORN KARNAGE (Var, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 751): INCREDIBLE HULK of FANTASTIC FIVE II (?, mgr>)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 732): LAME OX of CARDOW HUNTERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 745): SIR TOO DUMB of THE GRAIL KNIGHTS (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 747): AARON of AIMER'S INC (Tolbin, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 738): LEAD BELLY of BODY OF MUSIC (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 739): RAMEX of VISIONS V2 (Tolbin, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 372): TRAVEL of EXPENSE ACCOUNT (Finance Manager, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 736): SERENA of SHADOWMIST (Tolbin, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 639): MALICE of ASSASSINATION (Ghab, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 733): APOCALYPSE of ANGELS OF PAIN (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 730): SSSINK! Of F/X (Mannequin, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 722): MAYNERD of NERDS (DMobster, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 680): SHADOW FROGGY of BATTLE FROGS 12-15 (Grimm, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 347): BENEZIA of DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 341): WITCHCRAZE of DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 328): NEFARA of PUBLIC ENEMY (Pec Killer, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 612): RATTLER of SERPENTS' HOLD (Khisanth, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 597): CLARENCE G. CRAFT of MEDAL OF HONOR B11 (The Anarchist)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 579): SYBO of TREXTRAS (Otto X, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 573): DRIVING A ROLLS of BASH BROS EVANGELIST
(Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 277): URSULA ZAROFF of MIDDLE WAY 18 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 537): KNOS THE AXE of BATTLEAXE STAMPEDE (Nomad, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 529): UNTAMED BERSERKER of CRITICALS (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 520): SILVER SLIM of SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 637): ABSOLUTION of ANGELS OF PAIN (The Dark One, mgr.)
Top Teams
---------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 749): QUEEN (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 751): PURE POISON (?, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 732): CARDOW HUNTERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 745): GREENWARDENS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 747): PANDORA'S CARDS (Var, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 738): QUEENSRYCHE (Stillgard, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 739): VISIONS V2 (Tolbin, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 372): EXPENSE ACCOUNT (Finance Manager, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 736): THE TAKEN (Stillgard, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 369): WHAMMO & THUDDA 4U! (La Guillotine, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 733): OTTOMAN EMPIRE (Otto X, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 730): BIG LAKE BANDITS (Den, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 722): FOOT OF PRIDE (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 680): TOLBIN'S X-MEN (Tolbin, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 347): DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 341): NUKE TEST (Malaquar, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 328): LIFE IMPACTS (Smitty, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 612): MEDAL OF HONOR A11 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 597): DREAMTIME (Hombre, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 579): MEDAL OF HONOR G10 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 573): MEDAL OF HONOR C11 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 277): MIDDLE WAY 18 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 534): TOLBINS LADIES (Tolbin, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 529): RUNEBLADES (Stillgard, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 520): MEDAL OF HONOR Z2 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 636): BEERBARIANS et al (The Dark One, mgr.)
Recent Graduates
-----------------
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 751): INCREDIBLE HULK of FANTASTIC FIVE II (?, mgr>)
(turn 750): AMMONIUS of DREAMERS (Sleepy, mgr.)
JOY OF LOSING of WHO DA MAN? (Var, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 744): SILVAMERE of BLOODSWORN (Hollowshade, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 737): LIMB BIZKIT of BODY OF MUSIC (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 738): DOTTLE of VISIONS V2 (Tolbin, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 639): MALICE of ASSASSINATION (Ghab, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 732): MR SCHICICLES of DEATH BY DESIGN (Bubba Ganoosh, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 680): LYRICAL DRUGGIST of ORL 2013K (The Muffin Man, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 347): DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 341): WITCHCRAZE of DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
CHICKEN A LA KING of ROYAL FLUSH (Crip, mgr.)
(turn 340): MANDORALLEN of PAWN OF PROPHECY (Gentleben, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 611): BACKLASH of SERPENTS' HOLD (Khisanth, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 519): SERGEANT 4 of MEDAL OF HONOR Z2 (The Anarchist, mgr)
DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
Notes from the arena champ.
This will be our last turn here--the one you hold in your hands will. No
telling where we'll go or whether we'll fight elsewhere. Some other group of
traveling fighters will take over from us, though.
As to me losing to M. Chardinee and still holding the title, it works that way.
Standbys cannot be duelmaster, and in such a case the title goes to the highest
ranked warrior regardless. Ha! Except in the case of a tie. If there's a tie, for
any front page position, then no one gets it.
Del Curve
SPY REPORT
Good day, in NOBLISH ISLAND a quiet thief gets rich, but a quiet spymaster gets
poor. So bring me ale and harken to my tidbits of news. It seems the training can
make the difference, as THIRD HIGHWAY is pushed out of top team by BB BASEBALL MONEY,
who came from 2nd with a 4-1-0 this turn. The SPORTS FLICKS guild has had a 5-0-1
turn and deserves to be watched in the future. You never know where this kind of
thing can lead. And let's see, CUTTING EDGE fought TAMINA BLAZE and gained 17 points
and contributed to SPORTS FLICKS' 5-0-1. GERONIMO FORD has lost to AMBITIOUS GUARD,
falling 3 points, while helping make THIRD HIGHWAY a 3-2-0 turn. The attempts to
dethrone the Duelmaster have failed, and DEL CURVE remains NOBLISH ISLAND's top
warrior for another turn. Tell me, is nothing sacred? I have heard from
unimpeachable sources that The Swinging Aardvark uses trolls in their stew. Talk
about gristle!
I tell you, a green quarterstaff lasts longer than a seasoned sapling. A basher
friend of mine assures me this is true. I also notice that the BB BASEBALL MONEY
stable was the most avoided team this turn. Come on NOBLISH ISLAND, what are you
afraid of? And guess who avoided BB BASEBALL MONEY stable the most? Believe it or
not, it was SCORPIONS. Anyone surprised? The most challenged warrior this turn was
THIRD HIGHWAY's warrior DEAN END. More fighters challenged him than challenged the
Duelmaster!
A coward dies a thousand deaths, a brave man only once. Wise men know this to
be true. The manager of SCORPIONS will not be pleased to learn that TAMINA BLAZE, a
2-0-0 fighter, has been killed at the hands of SPORTS FLICKS' CUTTING EDGE. A brave
warrior does not carry a red shield, he has nothing to cover or hide when the fight
is over. Consider well.
Remember, blood on the purple robe does not change it from a purple robe. Dare
to fight bravely. Well, I'm burning daylight here in NOBLISH ISLAND and I've a long
road ahead of me. Happy Trails. Until the sun next rises and my pen sets to paper--
Alarond the Scribe
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
DEL CURVE 9535 7 3 0 66 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
SHADY LANE 9537 6 4 1 45 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
GERONIMO FORD 9536 6 4 0 34 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
CUTTING EDGE 9584 2 1 1 29 SPORTS FLICKS (1651)
ALLEN BRIDGER 9538 7 3 0 28 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
BRYSON MOSSBERG 9555 2 2 0 25 SCORPIONS (1646)
KNEEDLINYA 9567 3 2 0 24 BEYOND THE WALL (1647)
TOYTLES 9563 3 2 0 24 BEYOND THE WALL (1647)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
GORGORE 9599 2 1 0 23 BEYOND THE WALL (1647)
SIR CODY STORM 9559 2 2 0 22 SCORPIONS (1646)
HOOSIERS 9585 3 0 0 21 SPORTS FLICKS (1651)
-OLA SHAITAN 9570 2 0 0 21 ALLADIN'S ELITE (1648)
DEAN END 9539 5 5 0 20 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
LONGTERM CONTRACTS 9580 3 0 0 20 BB BASEBALL MONEY (1650)
GUARANTEED 9581 3 0 0 20 BB BASEBALL MONEY (1650)
XEPHYR 9603 2 0 0 18 X-MEN! (1644)
THE NATURAL 9587 2 1 0 18 SPORTS FLICKS (1651)
XUNA 9548 4 3 1 16 X-MEN! (1644)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
TIN CUP 9588 2 1 1 15 SPORTS FLICKS (1651)
ROCKY 9586 2 1 1 15 SPORTS FLICKS (1651)
XOOMA 9547 3 4 0 13 X-MEN! (1644)
OUT OF CONTROL 9579 2 1 0 13 BB BASEBALL MONEY (1650)
TV CONTRACTS 9583 2 1 0 13 BB BASEBALL MONEY (1650)
THEODORE PRESCOTT 9573 2 2 1 11 ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649)
LEFTY & PULSE 9582 2 1 0 11 BB BASEBALL MONEY (1650)
BRIX 9566 2 3 0 9 BEYOND THE WALL (1647)
JOHN CUTLY 9590 1 1 0 9 NEO POLITY (1652)
SYMPHONICA 9592 1 1 0 9 NEO POLITY (1652)
XIVECK 9602 1 1 0 7 X-MEN! (1644)
ANVENGEN KALE 9577 1 3 0 6 ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649)
-SULI JANN 9569 1 1 0 6 ALLADIN'S ELITE (1648)
XABOO 9597 1 2 0 5 X-MEN! (1644)
PING 9564 0 5 0 5 BEYOND THE WALL (1647)
EMILE RUHAN 9593 0 2 0 2 NEO POLITY (1652)
MELINA SAI 9600 0 2 0 2 SCORPIONS (1646)
-SYL DJINN 9571 0 2 0 2 ALLADIN'S ELITE (1648)
FRANKY 9601 0 2 0 2 SCORPIONS (1646)
DYSOFONIA 9591 0 2 0 2 NEO POLITY (1652)
JIMMY DENS 9589 0 2 0 2 NEO POLITY (1652)
-URMA MARID 9598 0 1 0 1 ALLADIN'S ELITE (1648)
OGRE THE PALE 9609 0 1 0 1 ANVENGEN'S EDGE (1649)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
URSALA MARID 9568 0 1 0 ALLADIN'S ELITE 1648 XUNA 9548 401
PAOLO REYES 9610 0 1 0 ANVENGEN'S EDGE 1649 SPYMASTER 404 NONE
TIBERIUS DIRK 9575 0 2 0 ANVENGEN'S EDGE 1649 SHEWISH GIANT 404 NONE
PONG 9565 1 1 0 BEYOND THE WALL 1647 SHADY LANE 9537 401
MS. SMOKE 9594 0 1 0 SCORPIONS 1646 TIN CUP 9588 402 REVENGED
SPIRAL FLAME 9595 0 1 0 SCORPIONS 1646 ROCKY 9586 402 REVENGED
TAMINA BLAZE 9596 2 1 0 SCORPIONS 1646 CUTTING EDGE 9584 404
XERXES 9545 2 2 0 X-MEN! 1644 THEODORE PRESCOT 9573 401
PERSONAL ADS
Assur -- You old codger! I see what you have been doing with all that baseball
money. You bought yourself some fine free agents! 8-2. OMG! Salute. -- The
Producer
P.S. Did you have to chastise me about killing newbie warriors? I really do feel
bad enough about it all ready.
Scorpio -- Great job avenging your brother warriors. Kudos to you. -- The Producer
P.S. I do want to repeat that the kills were unintentional. I hope your new
recruits were something of an appeasement.
Dean End -- All that experience and I sneaked out a win in overtime? Wowser! --
Hoosiers
Xaboo -- You may be a turtle, but I am a slug. Bwahahahah. -- The Natural
Tiberius Dirk -- Really? Like the knife? Well, heck, I guess you can call me The
Blade. -- Cutting Edge
Good luck to all. It is wonderful to see such a large showing of newcomers here in
Noblish. May the force be with you. -- The Producer.
And REMEMBER to ask questions!!!! -- The Producer et al
I suppose it makes sense for Sports Flicks to avoid us, because we avoid them, and
all other flicks, as much as we can. It's hard to keep both eyes on the road, or
even ONE eye on the road, if we're trying to watch a flick. Besides, with a book,
you can mark your place and come back to it at a more convenient time. So there, eh?
-- Jorja
If I don't get an award for being most challenged, and last time I looked I did NOT
get one, then I want no part of it! Standbys for me, whenever possible. -- Shady
Lane
P.S. Shady Lanes are for loafing and enjoying life, right? Not for getting into
fights.
Three-two, with Del losing to M. Chardinee! The REST of us were out there doing our
job.
Brix -- A bold challenge, but perhaps not a wise one. The experience difference will
bite you when you aren't looking. And perhaps you should be faster off the mark? A
higher offensive effort might help, because you should have gotten the first blow,
and that's often the one that decides the fight. -- Shady Lane
Hot dog, a standby! I like those fights. -- Geronimo Ford
Hossiers -- I hate long moves. -- Dead End
Theodore Prescott -- An obvious piece of advice: replace that weapon with something
lighter. Amazing how much that can help. -- Allen Bridger
Xyxlstyx -- Your request was received. Unfortunately I cannot provide the documents.
But, if you request the CIC documents directly from RSI, they will send it. -- The
Producer (for Ponce De Leon, Old El Paso) Consortium affiliated
Sports Flicks -- I guess I can accept your apologies. The Arenamaster must have been
to your favor, because I came in all 10s blazing! What hurts is I believe Spiral
Flame may have been Primus-bound. -- Scorpio
All -- If anyone has paid attention to the bloodfeud that my manager Scorpio
declared, let this be known that as Team Capt, I WILL ALWAYS AVENGE A FELLOW TEAM
MATE. I take honor seriously--so I go in saying this: "Won't start none, won't be
none." -- Sir Cody Storm, Team Scorpions
Well said, Sir Storm. I agree and stand by my Scorpion brother! We avenge together,
we drink together, and we mettle with the ladies!! All in good fun, I say! -- Bryson
Mossberg
Ping -- I advise you, THIS ONE TIME, to stay back and stick to the sandbox, 'cause
you're not ready for the Big Leagues yet. *rolls eyes* -- Tomina Blaze
Jorja -- Hella yes! Ties in the land! *smile* I see your name all over the place.
I think that's awesome that you've been doing D2 the past 15 years. Is this a hobby
of yours? I'm starting to think it's become a hobby of mine. *smile* BTW, you
won't be focusing on any sort of rain if you're in my tent. *wink* -- Scorpio
RIP Ms. Smoke and Spiral Flame. Tonight, the Scorpions drink for you!! Hear hear!!
-- Scorpio
It is sad to say, Anvengen's Edge Adventuring Co. is losing its members quickly. It
would seem that dueling to the death suits the more adventurous, though. Nivet,
Dingus, Tiberious, and Paolo... you will be missed, brothers. -- Anvengen Kale
We do not fear the middle of the highway. Traffic will flow in both directions upon
it, regardless of those who walk it. They too will feel it. -- Anvengen's Edge
Greetings to the wise Assur, Jorja, and Producer. Thank you for your offering of
aptitude to novice gladiators. Your advice is treasured by the intelligent and
ignored by the dead. -- Anvengen Kale
Allen Bridger -- Your lesson was well taught. I did not know the Mirian fought with
such ferocity, though. I now have to prove myself. Expect the rematch. -- Theodore
Prescott
Neo Polity -- Welcome to the Isle of Endless Rain. May your training lead to
immortality. -- Anvengen Kale
Bryson Mossberg -- Pain teaches us valuable lessons. Yours was, to surrender faster.
*smiles* -- Kneedlinya
Xuna -- The grace of your people is certainly not lost on you. Perhaps next time
you'll bring their claws. *winks* -- Kneedlinya
Out of Control -- Typical male; far more pomp than performance. A little more
"control" may give you more staying power. *snickers* -- Toytles
Shady Lane -- You barely left Toytles with all her limbs. Tried to cut out poor
Brix's heart (we're pretty sure it's still broken)... by the gods, you're formidable.
I cannot wait to meet you on the sands. -- Kneedlinya
All -- After reading your responses, I took a good long look at my gladiators'
fights. Noticing some key factors, such as poor weapon/style or weapon/stat and
weight/stat #s, which really opened my eyes, I have decided to stick with him for
awhile. He's a PS, unfortunately. I don't recall what his original stats were, but
I'm sure you're right, Jorja, I could have done better by him. Ah well, I look
forward to experimenting and learning more! Thanks everyone! :) -- Keyoke
All -- In just a few more turns, I guess, we at Beyond the Wall will have to move on
to another arena. I was hoping to get suggestions from some of you as to where might
be a good fit. Overall, I'd like an arena with a wide variety of opponents to choose
from. Preferrably nice, role play oriented and fun loving people such as yourselves.
I plan to remain in a fast turn around arena. Maybe one of the Lirith Kai arenas as
they sound interesting, but I'm definitely open to suggestions... clearly. :) --
Keyoke
P.S. I did read Jorja's post about arenas, thanks Jorja, and am leaning toward
Andorian / Lirith Kai. I'm just looking for if anyone has good experiences with a
few in particular.
At this time, there is no role-play going forward in the Lirith Kai arenas. Off
hand, I would suggest 11, 14, 25, or 46.
All -- Please write your personal ads on a single piece of paper. Each message
does not need to be on a separate piece of paper. Thank you. -- A Commission
Lackey
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
TIBERIUS DIRK was viciously butchered by SHEWISH GIANT in a 1 minute Dark Arena fight.
PAOLO REYES was slaughtered by SPYMASTER in a 1 minute gruesome Dark Arena battle.
KNEEDLINYA was demolished by SHADY LANE in a 1 minute uneven Bloodfeud fight.
SIR CODY STORM bested XUNA in a 1 minute gory Challenge contest.
XOOMA was overpowered by BRYSON MOSSBERG in a 1 minute mismatched Challenge match.
FRANKY was devastated by XEPHYR in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge duel.
ANVENGEN KALE was bested by GUARANTEED in a 1 minute amateur's Challenge match.
THE NATURAL outlasted DEAN END in a dull 9 minute Challenge melee.
BRIX lost to LONGTERM CONTRACTS in a 1 minute beginner's Challenge duel.
TIN CUP overpowered XABOO in a 1 minute uneven Challenge duel.
XIVECK defeated EMILE RUHAN in a 4 minute novice's Challenge fight.
THEODORE PRESCOTT was viciously subdued by ALLEN BRIDGER in a 2 minute Challenge bout.
DEL CURVE subdued CONVICTED ASSASSIN in a crowd pleasing 1 minute Title match.
GERONIMO FORD slimly lost to AMBITIOUS GUARD in a exciting 1 minute brutal contest.
TOYTLES bested LEFTY & PULSE in a 3 minute amateur's bout.
OUT OF CONTROL handily defeated MELINA SAI in a 1 minute uneven fight.
TV CONTRACTS defeated JIMMY DENS in a 4 minute beginner's struggle.
CUTTING EDGE easily killed TAMINA BLAZE in a 1 minute bloody mismatched bout.
HOOSIERS viciously subdued JOHN CUTLY in a 4 minute brutal novice's fight.
ROCKY overpowered OGRE THE PALE in a 1 minute one-sided bout.
DYSOFONIA was overpowered by GORGORE in a 1 minute mismatched conflict.
SYMPHONICA bested PING in a 2 minute novice's bout.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|WALL OF STEEL 8 SLASHING ATTACK 19 - 8 - 1 70 |
|BASHING ATTACK 6 WALL OF STEEL 44 - 25 - 2 64 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 5 TOTAL PARRY 17 - 12 - 0 59 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 4 LUNGING ATTACK 15 - 12 - 0 56 |
|AIMED BLOW 4 AIMED BLOW 14 - 16 - 1 47 |
|TOTAL PARRY 4 STRIKING ATTACK 13 - 15 - 3 46 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 4 BASHING ATTACK 15 - 18 - 1 45 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 3 PARRY-RIPOSTE 9 - 16 - 1 36 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 2 PARRY-STRIKE 1 - 16 - 0 6 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 - 0 0 |
Turn 404 was great if you Not so great if you used The fighting styles of the
used the fighting styles: the fighting styles: top eleven warriors are:
SLASHING ATTACK 3 - 1 STRIKING ATTACK 2 - 3 3 WALL OF STEEL
WALL OF STEEL 6 - 2 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 2 STRIKING ATTACK
BASHING ATTACK 4 - 2 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 3 2 LUNGING ATTACK
AIMED BLOW 2 - 2 PARRY-RIPOSTE 0 - 4 2 SLASHING ATTACK
TOTAL PARRY 2 - 2 LUNGING ATTACK 0 - 2 1 TOTAL PARRY
1 BASHING ATTACK
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
WALL OF STEEL DEL CURVE 9535 7 3 0 66 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
STRIKING ATTACK SHADY LANE 9537 6 4 1 45 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
LUNGING ATTACK GERONIMO FORD 9536 6 4 0 34 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is SHADY LANE 9537. The most popular warrior this turn
was DEAN END 9539. The ten other most popular fighters were ALLEN BRIDGER 9538,
SHADY LANE 9537, GUARANTEED 9581, XIVECK 9602, DEL CURVE 9535, GERONIMO FORD 9536,
LEFTY & PULSE 9582, CUTTING EDGE 9584, ROCKY 9586, and SYMPHONICA 9592.
The least popular fighter this week was THE NATURAL 9587. The other ten least
popular fighters were JIMMY DENS 9589, DYSOFONIA 9591, OGRE THE PALE 9609, HOOSIERS
9585, TAMINA BLAZE 9596, MELINA SAI 9600, TOYTLES 9563, EMILE RUHAN 9593, XABOO 9597,
and BRIX 9566.
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)