DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 10/18/2014 Duedate: 10/31/2014
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-414
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
AGEHA
THE SHADOW GUILD (1654)
(93-9613) [6-2-0,55]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
POSITION IS EMPTY AGEHA
THE SHADOW GUILD (1654)
(93-9613) [6-2-0,55]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
KOKO BELLA KOKO BELLA
THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
(93-9618) [8-1-0,42] (93-9618) [8-1-0,42]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
BASH BROS SCUM (1663)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. MY 60'S TV (1661) 36
2. THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) 20 THE MUPPETS (132)
3. BASH BROS SCUM (1663) 18 Unchartered Team
4. PHOENIX GUARD (1655) 18
5. TOXIC STORM (1658) 18 BASH BROS SCUM (1663)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 1*BASH BROS SCUM (1663) 13 2 1 86.7 1/ 2*BASH BROS SCUM (1663) 13 2 1
2/ 3*MY 60'S TV (1661) 10 5 0 66.7 2/ 1*THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) 12 3 0
3/ 5*THIRD HIGHWAY (1642) 57 38 3 60.0 3/ 5*MY 60'S TV (1661) 10 5 0
4- 4*THE REAPERS (1660) 3 2 0 60.0 4/ 3*PHOENIX GUARD (1655) 7 3 0
5/ 6*PHOENIX GUARD (1655) 18 16 0 52.9 5/ 7*TOXIC STORM (1658) 5 10 1
6/ 7*THE SHADOW GUILD (1654) 15 20 0 42.9 6/ 6*THE SHADOW GUILD (1654) 4 11 0
7/ 2*DARK LOTUS (1659) 6 9 0 40.0 7- 8*THE REAPERS (1660) 3 2 0
8/ 8*TOXIC STORM (1658) 9 16 2 36.0 8/ 4*DARK LOTUS (1659) 3 7 0
9- 9*CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657) 4 18 0 18.2 9- 9*CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657) 1 8 0
10-10*5 ANGRY MEN (806) 0 1 0 0.0 10-10*5 ANGRY MEN (806) 0 1 0
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
So many questions with too few answers. Fingers pointin', suggestin' YOU'RE the
cancer that lingers in the pasture of green grass. Up to your neck in situations
that are too fast to think about--that most people don't DREAM about. A million
miles in every single second. And, when you read this message, I want you to feel me
in every single sentence.
With remnants of past treasures WE'LL embark on a journey that'll stay alive
forever while YOU stand over on your side of the fence regardless of the circumstance
or consequence. So, when you're TIRED of always second guessin' and messin' it up
again and again when the next day it's even deeper and you're steady sinkin' in just
take a look at yourself and come to grips with what you fine--be it a vision of a
child or of a disturbed and broke down warriors with no soul and no heart 'cause you
gave it away.
If you have no time for feelin' sorry, just grieve another day, for the Dark
Carnival has come and we're underground all day, so shed tears for all of those above
all over Alastari.
Team Dark Lotus
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The CIC (Consortium Information Collection)
Noblishers Should Ask RSI for it
Once upon a time there was a long-time manager who decided to collect a lot of
valuable information, in irregular small print form, on only three pages of 8.5x11.
That manager, or group of managers, use said data information when:
1. The internet is down and the Terrablood/RSI sites are unavailable
2. Traveling around the world and "working D2 strategies" in unusual places
3. Quick information is needed
4. They feel like it
The information is not necessarily the prettiest, but it can be quite invaluable to
D2ers especially D2ers with no internet accessibility. Copies of that information are
now available for Noblish Island managers. Contact the RSI office to request it by
mail.
Most of the information on the data sheets is self-explanatory. Some will
require explanation. Most has been gathered from various sources over time in the old
DM community. Much of it has been gathered empirically. (Meaning that the information
is not programming code, or from the designers, but rather gathered by users and
players of the game.) The information may not always be "perfect", but it is widely
used in this or similar fashion.
I will explain the information by placing it into two categories -
straightforward, and intricate. First let's cover what is in the first category.
The following charts/info fit the straightforward category. Some include simple
calculations.
1. WEAPON SUITABILITY - shows which weapons are suited, marginal, or unsuited to a
style.
2. WEAPON REQUIREMENTS - indicates the ST, SZ, WT, DF limitations for a weapon. It
also covers the weapon weight, the armor it is best used against, and whether it
is a slash, bash, lunge weapon.
3. INTELLIGENCE - defines the WT needed for each rating.
4. DAMAGE - reveals the approximate damage rating one should expect for all ST/SZ
combinations. Note: a luck roll factor can both hose and bless damage rating.
5. ENCUMBRANCE - a table which shows what level of "carry" (encumbrance rating) one
should expect at all SZ/CN combinations.
6. HEIGHT - a simple conversion between the SZ number and height.
7. COORDINATION - which is defined as SP + DF; the chart provides a summary of each
coordination rating and the "points" range for each
8. ENDURANCE - most still use this calculation, although a "luck roll factor" can
alter the results slightly. The endurance rating which is WL x (ST+CN) is defined
for each rating.
9. HIT POINTS - sometimes called "damage taking" is broken down in this chart. The
HP is defined as 3.75CN + 1.1SZ + 0.4 WL. The rating levels are defined by
"points."
And now for the more difficult to explain charts which interact with each other.
The three intricate charts are:
1. BAGMAN2 SKILL CHART - this chart explains how many and what skills are added to
the warrior base for each stat point. (All stats, including SZ, add or subtract
skills at certain levels except CN.)
2. STYLE SKILL MODIFIER - indicates the modification, by style, of skills per type.
This occurs "at birth" of the warrior.
3. HIGH WIT STATEMENTS - a chart of phrases which indicate, at birth, the skill
level, by skill type, of your warrior. Note: there is a Low Wit Statement chart for
warriors with less than 8 WT, but it is very inaccurate (minimal empirical data) and
seldom used. It is not included in this collection of charts. (A good low WT
statement chart was later developed by Assur.)
These three charts work together to help a warrior determine his anticipated starting
skills. They also define at which skill levels, per stat, that skills are added
during the warrior's development. Note: Depending on the warrior's style, it is
possible to be blessed or hosed by up to 4 skills by the "luck of the roll". The
other thing to remember is that an ambidextrous warrior gets one attack skill added
to his base at birth.
These intricate three charts, and the interaction between them, can seem quite
complicated. After a certain amount of trial-and-error, and/or by absorbing enough
advice, a manager finally "gets it". Use them well.
DETAILS OF USING THE CIC
What can you do with the Consortium Information Collection (CIC)? How does one use
all that info? (Noblish Island managers can contact RSI for a copy.)
You can use the information to:
1. Predict what your designed warrior is going to look like. (Indeed, you can use the
info to "try out" several design ideas, before you choose your final design.
2. Review the overview of the warrior you received to see if he/she is bonused/hosed.
3. Help keep track of the warrior's skills, including those earned from certain stat
raises.
4. Determine advantageous and usable weapons and armor for certain situations.
One note: Use of this information can be meticulous, detailed and exasperating at
first. It will take practice. So let's examine the CIC in detail.
1. ***DAMAGE CHART*** This chart shows you the range of expected damage doing your
character will yield. For example, a SZ16, 10ST warrior yields "-R+", meaning great
damage is typical, but lower and higher are not uncommon. Damage doing is dependent
on SZ, ST, and luck of the roll. If a warrior is much below, or much above, the chart
predictions, he is "hosed" or "blessed". This chart is more of generic reference than
most of the other information.
2. *** HIT POINTS*** HP is calculated as (3.75xCN)+(1.1xSZ)+(0.4xWL) . This chart
shows the HP needed for each rating. For example, an 11-10-8-15-17-12-11 warrior
would have (3.75x10)+(1.1X8)+(0.4x17)=53.10 HP and his "hit point rating" would be
"cannot lot", meaning cannot take a lot of damage. One raise of CN elevates him to
56.85 and "normal HP".
3. ***ENDURANCE*** By this chart's definition, endurance equals (WL)x(ST+CN) Using
the warrior mentioned above, endurance is (17)x(11+10) = 357. Based on the chart,
this warrior should have "normal endurance. It is possible to be hosed/blessed in
endurance, which would be the case if this warrior did not have normal. Note: On a
warrior profile sheet, the lack of any comment about endurance, means the warrior has
normal.
4. ***COORDINATION*** Coordination is merely SP + CN. There is no hosing or
blessing. The warrior listed above has 12+11 = 23 or normal coordination.
5. ***ENCUMBRANCE*** is often called "carry". Carry is a non-hosed/blessed attribute
dependent on ST and CN and it indicates how much weight a warrior can carry without
penalizing the endurance. Checking the chart for the above listed warrior shows
11ST/10CN yields "B" carry, or "cannot carry a lot of weight". Each level of carry
adds 9 points of weight that can be carried. A = 9; B = 18; C = 27, etc. Items to be
carried are armor, helm, and weapon/shields. Check the WEAPON REQUIREMENT chart to
see the weights of weapons and armor. As an example, a warrior wearing ASM/H, and
carrying BS/ME and a backup SH, has the following weights of 8 + 3 + 4 + 4 + 2 = 19.
That amount of carry is more than the 18 indicated for "B carry", hence, the warrior
wears out much quicker than normal. (Drop the back up to DA and carry is 18 points!)
6. ***HEIGHT*** this is a simple conversion chart showing what heights equate to what
SZ. While the warrior fight summary may list the warrior in ft.-in, the D2 program
really runs using the SZ number. Size may limit weapons or shields that may be used
without penalty, and as seen above, it impacts certain other characteristics.
7. ***INTELLIGENCE*** This chart indicates the intelligence statement you will
receive at each numeric WT. In general, only the numeric value is of importance.
8. ***STYLE SUITABILITY*** This is a chart which summarizes which weapons/shields are
suitable, marginal, or unsuitable for which styles.
9. ***WEAPON REQUIREMENTS*** This chart only refers to primary-hand weapons, and it
is a terrific summary of weapon requirement and impact. This chart reveals all of the
following and more:
a. weapon weights
b. ST requirements for a weapon
c. SZ limitations for a weapon
d. WT requirements for all weapons
e. DF requirements for a weapon
f. Weapon impact vs. armor type
g. Kill "ratings" for weapons (Take this rating with a "grain of salt" as it is not
really supported by empirical results, and it appears to say heavy weapons kill
better.)
h. Whether the weapon is a slash, bash, or lunge type weapon.
10. ***BAGMAN 2 SKILL CHART AND STYLE MODIFIERS*** This chart is a doozy! It took
years of data and development, and has become a highly important tool in D2. The
SKILL CHART explains what skills are earned at each stat level. For example: at 5 WL
the warrior gets 1 each Attack, Parry, Defense, and Decisiveness skill; at 6 WL, no
more skills are earned; but bumping the 7WL again adds one each of those same four.
Note also that SZ does impact skills. A SZ3 warrior gets two each defense and parry
skills and loses two initiative, while a SZ21 earns 4 initiative but loses four each
defense and parry. This chart is prepared in an accumulative fashion, showing the
total skills at each stat.
Coupled with that chart the STYLE MODIFIER chart shows the "at birth" style
of modifications. (All negative or zero. Each style starts with a different
base of skills. Let's take our previously mentioned 11-10-8-15-17- 12-11
warrior for example, and let's say he is a slasher. The skill chart shows 2
each attack and parry skills at 11 ST; no skills for CN and no skills for SZ;
at 15WT 9 initiative, 3 riposte, 7 attack, 7 defense, and 2 decisiveness; 4
each attack, parry and defense plus 5 decise at 17WL; 3 init, 4 riposte, 2
defense, and 5 decise at 12SP; and at 11DF there are 3 Init, 4 Riposte, and 5
each attack, parry and defense skills. Add those all together to get a
15Init-11Rip-18Att-11Par-18Def-12Dec total of skills for that design. Now you
must apply the style modifier chart, and a slasher has as follows: -2 Init,
-4Rip, -8Att, -10Par, -12Def, -2Dec. Putting them both together yields a
slasher who should expect starting skills of 13 Init, 7 Rip, 10 Att, 1 Par, 6
Def, and 11 Dec.
11. ***HIGH WIT STATEMENTS*** These statements apply to those warriors with 8+ WT.
(There are also Low Wit Statements, but that information summary is inaccurate due to
lack of input data.) This list indicates what "statements" should appear on your
"warrior profile" for each of Initiative, Riposte, Attack, Parry, and Defense per
each level of wit. Using our warrior above, as stated, he is expected to start with
13 Initiative skills. He has 15 WT. Examining the chart, under Initiative and across
from 15 WT (which also applies for 16WT, since the next listed level is 17), the left
side (high order) is for 13+base init skills, and the right side (low order 10-12
base init). We determined that he should start with 13, so we should expect the
statement "Nothing short of genius ...". If we do get this statement as expected, we
DO have 13+ Initiative skills. (13 min) Hence, we could be bonused with skills above
13. We would know if we were bonused 3 Init skills, as we would start with an expert
in Initiative. However, if, indeed, we received the other statement "With a very
aggressive .....", we would know we started with 10-12 Initiative skills, and were
hence hosed 1 to 3 initiative skills.
Let's try one more example - for Riposte. Our skill evaluations showed him
to have 7 skills. Looking at the HIGH WIT chart at 15WT, he has fewer skills
than the low order amount of 10-12, so he should expect no riposte statement.
If he did get the low order statement, then he truly has at least 10 riposte
skills, so he is bonused +3 or +4 (4 is max skill hose or bonus.) Evaluating
the high wit statements of all five skill areas (There is none for
decisiveness.) will lead to a true and actual understanding of the starting
skill set of any warrior.
NOTE: With internet accessibility, use The Terrablood site for ALL this info.
***** Brought to you by Mr. Ed Sullivan and CONSORTIUM affiliates everywhere. *****
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Staying Alive
Death is part of dueling. This sport is dangerous! But there are things that a
manager can do to help keep his warriors alive. Nothing is a sure thing, and a
warrior with maximum hit points (21 con/siz/will) can still die. There is some luck
involved regardless, and luck can run both ways. But here are the experiences of
Assur with keeping warriors alive.
1) WIN! It is impossible to die unless you lose a fight. In fact, some of the
suggestions later on may hinder your ability to win somewhat, so this should be the
first and highest priority in keeping your warriors alive.
2) Wear armor. Any armor. Especially a helm. It is Assur's experience that
warriors with NO armor die way more often than warriors that wear armor. On the
other side of that, Assur has no conclusive proof that APA gives any additional
protection against death than ALE. It likely does, but the benefit from none to ALE
is much greater than ALE to higher armors. SO... ALE/L at minimum.
3) Lower your KD, especially in desperation. There are tons of theories about
what different KD does, but nobody is completely sure. But Assur has found that is
does change your ability to kill and be killed. Want to live? Go low, really low.
Want to die? Go high, really high. Assur guesses that it changes your desire to
keep fighting (both winning and losing) and the arenamaster respects that and lets
the fight continue or ends it sooner.
4) Protect HE and/or BD. If it is a warrior that Assur really wants to live,
he'll often protect one of these areas during minutes 1-6, and another in
desperation.
5) Hit Points, especially Size and Will. Smaller warriors seems to die more
often. it is also believe that Will is directly related to the stat the is checked
when your warrior enters the infirmary.
6) Stay away from known killers. See that 3rd number in your opponent's record?
It means something. If that number is anything greater than 0, it means your
opponent has killed before. When that number is 2 or higher, it suggests that you
may not want to fight that warrior (or if you do, make sure you win).
7) Look for managers that aren't killers. You will definitely see patterns over
time. Divide kills by wins for a team's career record. That is a great indicator as
to how bloodthirsty a manager is. .10 is a very high kill ratio. .05 is a manager
who probably tries NOT to kill.
8) Stay away from huge mismatches. For whatever reason, it happens over and
over again. Young upstart challenges or is matched against very old veteran. The
end is an early demise for the arrogant young upstart.
9) Fight warriors that aren't going to kill. The opposite of 5, but this goes
one further. Pure scum Total Parries that let a warrior run himself to exhaustion
don't kill very often (since they don't attack very often). However, see the final
item.
10) Stay out of exhaustion. Warriors seem to die much more often when they are
completely exhausted. Your opponent starts hammering down the blows and your warrior
takes blow after blow.
As I began, you can't ensure your warrior will never die, but you can do everything
in your power to prevent it.
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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 759): WILKERSON of BLUE MOON (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 761): AGONY of TORTURED (Iron Maiden, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 752): KNICK KNACK of ALLITERATE ARMY (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 755): GROOVY SIR GRIMM of THE GRAIL KNIGHTS (The Dark One, mgr)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 757): MISDIAGNOSIS of BASH BROS. DOCTOR (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 748): T.G.I. FLOYD'S of ALL THINGS FLOYD (Floyd, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 749): MAD DOG RUSSO of MAN OR BEAST? (The Dark One, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 377): WATER RAT of LORDS OF DISCIPLINE (Longshot, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 746): MILEY VIRUS of STREET WALKERS (Roadkill, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 375): SEAWEED of BASH BROS OCEAN (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 742): NOT FOR HIRE of OTTOMAN EMPIRE (Otto X, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 740): BRUNHYLDA of OBSIDIAN HALL (Dameon Darkheart, mgr)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 732): COLLEEN of CHILDREN OF LLYR (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 690): PLASTIC MAN of MELODY MAYHEM (Stillgard, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 352): SLAMBO of STREET WALKERS (Roadkill, mgr)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 346): RU BRINGER of LES TURFISTES (Le Pentarque, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 333): THE BEATLES of OPEN SESAME (Crip, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 622): SWYTAI of GRIZZLED VETERANS (Dameon Darkheart, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 607): CRAYONS of UNNAMEABLES (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 589): CHICKEN POODLE SOUP of CANINE CUISINE
(Alfredo Frothingslosh, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 583): GUNSLINGER of POSSE (Hollowshade, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 282): MAJOR BRADBURY of CANADIAN WHISKEY (Crip, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 547): TAX MAIL-IN of I HATE TOURNEYS (Crumudgeon, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 538): UNTAMED BERSERKER of CRITICALS (Howlin' Wolf, mgr)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 530): SERGEANT 3 of MEDAL OF HONOR Z2 (The Anarchist, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 647): BILBO BAGGINNI of MIDDLE ITALY (The Dark One, mgr.)
Top Teams
---------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 759): QUEEN (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 761): FANTASTIC FIVE II (?, mgr.)
DM 13 DULLENS (turn 752): ALLITERATE ARMY (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 755): BLOODSWORN (Hollowshade, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 757): GOLDEN GLADIATORS (Midas, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 748): ALL THINGS FLOYD (Floyd, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 749): JOURNEY (Stillgard, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 377): MEAN PEOPLE (Bill, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 746): CARDOW HUNTERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 375): BASH BROS OCEAN (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 743): OLD GEEZERS (Old Fart, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 740): XXX BANDITS (?, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 732): FOOT OF PRIDE (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 690): MELODY MAYHEM (Stillgard, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 352): DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 345): SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 333): MESOPOTAMIA (Var, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 622): MIDDLE WAY 20 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 60 ARADI (turn 607): UNNAMEABLES (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 589): CANINE CUISINE (Alfredo Frothingslosh, mgr.)
DM 65 DAL SHANG (turn 583): POSSE (Hollowshade, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 282): WORLDWIDE GORE (Crip, mgr.)
DM 74 DAYLA KIV (turn 544): MEDAL OF HONOR (The Anarchist, mgr.)
DM 75 JADE MOUNTAIN (turn 539): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 78 LIN TIRIAN (turn 530): SAND DANCERS (Jorja, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 647): DIRT DEVILS et al (The Dark One, mgr.)
Recent Graduates
-----------------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 758): THE TALL MAN of BLUE MOON (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 761): G.I.I.L. of SUPERIOR FORCES 22I (Manager, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 757): MISDIAGNOSIS of BASH BROS. DOCTOR (Assurnasirbanipal, mgr)
(turn 756): BLACK INDEKKER of PUNNY AMINALS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 747): LEAD BELLY of BODY OF MUSIC (Howlin' Wolf, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 749): HOUSE BEAUTIFUL of THE MAGNIFICENT MAGS (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 745): YEZURA of THE TAKEN (Stillgard, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 742): BLASPHEMY of ANGELS OF PAIN (The Dark One, mgr.)
UNGNOME SOLDIER of SECRET SQUIRRELS (Gentleben, mgr.)
DM 33 NIATOLI ISLAND (turn 740): BYL BONESNAPPER of BIG LAKE BANDITS (Den, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 732): COLLEEN of CHILDREN OF LLYR (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 352): SLAMBO of STREET WALKERS (Roadkill, mgr)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 346): RU BRINGER of LES TURFISTES (Le Pentarque, mgr.)
STING of SERPENTS HOLD 200 (Khisanth, mgr.)
CAPTURED PORK of SHEWISH BUFFET (One Armed Bandit)
ACE HARDWARE of ROYAL FLUSH (Crip, mgr.)
(turn 345): ASTROTRAIN of DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 333): THE BEATLES of OPEN SESAME (Crip, mgr.)
(turn 332): KINGU of MESOPOTAMIA (Var, mgr.)
HAIRY MONSTER of OPEN SESAME (Crip, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 589): CHICKEN POODLE SOUP of CANINE CUISINE
(Alfredo Frothingslosh, mgr.)
(turn 588): WILLI ZANE of MIDDLE WAY 16 (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 281): F.U.B.A.R. of ALPHABET SOUP (Crip, mgr.)
DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
Notes from the arena champ.
Greeting to all the managers and their fighters. Ageha is my name and bashing
is my game. I am shocked that I made it to where I am so soon. My talent's have
gotten me far and in such a short time.
I give thanks to my dear friend Scorpio. I was intrduced to him by my manager
Lord Abyss. We have had a good drink or two. He even brought out a bottle of his
best drink, something he called "Purple Fairie." I tell you, that stuff has some
kick! He has taught me a lot about being a great fighter.
Next I give the greatest and highest thanks to my manager Lord Abyss. For, if
it wasn't for him, I would still be on the dark and dead land of "Psyren." A place
wher only the stong survive. I brought with me the only thing that kept me alive, my
mace "Death's Embrace." It's called that because I woke up embracing death until I
went back to sleep.
I have been kicking ass and taking names the whole time I've been here and I
will continue to so so wherever I go. The things I have been enjoying the most is
smashing "TVs and bashing 'Brothers.'" I have left smashed TVs and broken Brothers
on the side of the "Third Highway." I am looking for some more fun to have so I can
throw more refuge on that highway. Say is there anyone who wants to call their new
team "Blood Cotton Balls?" I could have some cotton-ball tumble weeds rolling around
in the wind.
I am seeking new apprentices to fight. So, all of you I am hoping to see some
new people come after me. So, hurry and get highter I'm eager for a new challenge.
Come for me if you dare.Death's Embrace is eager to embrace you.
I AM AGEHA "THE DRAGON" AND I SAY TO YOU ALL, JUST BRING IT!
Ageha
The Shadow Guild
SPY REPORT
You elder fighters surely remember me. The younger ones may call me Olaf
Modeen. I return to NOBLISH ISLAND once again! Bein' on top is great while it
lasts, THIRD HIGHWAY. But how many friends do you have now? Phhbltt! Too much
drinking and too little dodging gave DARK LOTUS a 0-5-0! I got a good laugh out of
it! Some people say I ramble too much, I don't say anything relevant. I repeat
myself. I ramble. Well BASH BROS SCUM moved up 1, to 1st. Major screwup at PHOENIX
GUARD. RAGE lost 12 points to MONNA KOPI. Some new strategies, perhaps? Maybe RAGE
will provide more easy wins... Our Duelmaster has lost, folks, lost to KUNG-FU
MASTER, BUT AGEHA is still the Duelmaster because he has the most recognition points!
Wouldn't it be nice to have live subjects to practice on? I hear some team is
looking into the uses of convicted prisoners.
No matter the time or place, men will always duel. The most avoided team was MY
60'S TV. In my day, no team with a 6-4-0 would scare me off! What's the problem,
BASH BROS SCUM? What do people see in KOKO BELLA? Hers 8-1-0? THIRD HIGHWAY ain't
talkin', but she's got 42 points. JOHN ASAZI didn't quite know what to make of a
challenge he received from URSUS DRAVEN of TOXIC STORM, who is 21 points below him.
URSUS DRAVEN perhaps got his just desserts, seeing as he subdued JOHN ASAZI and ended
up with 32 recognition points. I hate going to the effort of writing about the kind
of fights that BRIENNE gets in. She fights people like FURY, 14 points below. I
thought BRIENNE showed great skill and promise when she was beat by FURY. All right,
so I slept through it! Big deal!
Warriors of NOBLISH ISLAND unite. You have only your games to lose! Is it my
imagination, or are fighters getting younger every day? To die so young, so
gloriously!
Many other cities have retirement homes for aged warriors. Any plans here? All
work and no play makes Olaf a dull fighter. Work and play no fighter dull Olaf.
Olaffighterwork and no play. I don't want to overstay my welcome...-- Olaf Modeen
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
AGEHA 9613 6 2 0 55 THE SHADOW GUILD (1654)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
KOKO BELLA 9618 8 1 0 42 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
JINN SHAKAR 9653 5 0 0 42 PHOENIX GUARD (1655)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
CONOR PYREHEART 9624 4 3 0 35 PHOENIX GUARD (1655)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
URSUS DRAVEN 9650 2 3 0 32 TOXIC STORM (1658)
MIGGY OWENS 9621 6 3 1 29 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
MONNA KOPI 9620 2 7 0 26 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
SPARTAN 9614 6 1 0 24 THE SHADOW GUILD (1654)
SKY KING 9672 3 0 0 24 MY 60'S TV (1661)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
LUCKY CHUCKY 9619 5 4 0 22 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
MODE PARRY 9683 3 0 0 21 BASH BROS SCUM (1663)
FURY 9671 1 2 0 21 MY 60'S TV (1661)
JOHN ASAZI 9617 5 4 1 20 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
AMERICAN BANDSTAND 9668 2 1 0 20 MY 60'S TV (1661)
TERRIBLE ATTACKERS 9682 3 0 1 19 BASH BROS SCUM (1663)
BORING 9681 3 0 0 18 BASH BROS SCUM (1663)
RAVEN LEIGH 9648 2 3 0 16 TOXIC STORM (1658)
RAGE 9628 4 3 0 15 PHOENIX GUARD (1655)
HADDYR WOTAN 9647 2 3 1 15 TOXIC STORM (1658)
ROOKIES AND DONE 9680 2 1 0 15 BASH BROS SCUM (1663)
MICKEY MOUSE CLUB 9669 3 0 0 14 MY 60'S TV (1661)
NHICOLE 9686 1 0 0 13 PHOENIX GUARD (1655)
-AUTUMNBE 9643 3 2 0 12 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
KURZAK 9660 3 1 0 12 PHOENIX GUARD (1655)
-JOSSLYN 9663 1 0 0 11 THE REAPERS (1660)
-STUMP 9665 1 0 0 10 THE REAPERS (1660)
LA PATRONA 9649 2 3 0 9 TOXIC STORM (1658)
THE RED VIPER 9659 1 2 0 9 DARK LOTUS (1659)
MIKE DRE' 9651 1 4 1 8 TOXIC STORM (1658)
FREDDY 9673 1 2 0 8 THE SHADOW GUILD (1654)
BRIENNE 9657 2 1 0 7 DARK LOTUS (1659)
VIOLENT J 9658 2 1 0 7 DARK LOTUS (1659)
DO NOTHING 9679 2 1 0 7 BASH BROS SCUM (1663)
-DRAXXUS 9644 1 4 0 7 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
OARS 9661 1 3 0 6 THE SHADOW GUILD (1654)
-O'RYAN 9667 1 0 0 6 THE REAPERS (1660)
PERRY MASON 9670 1 2 0 5 MY 60'S TV (1661)
-SEARRUS 9645 0 4 0 4 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
-PERSEPHONE 9642 0 4 0 4 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
-AGRISEL 9646 0 4 0 4 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
SHAGGY 2 DOPE 9684 0 2 0 2 DARK LOTUS (1659)
STONG BELWAS 9685 0 1 0 1 DARK LOTUS (1659)
-DUKE 9666 0 1 0 1 THE REAPERS (1660)
-MURDOCH 4696 0 1 0 1 5 ANGRY MEN (806)
-BARON 9664 0 1 0 1 THE REAPERS (1660)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
CONVICTED THIEF 0 0 0 TERRIBLE ATTACKE 9682 414 NONE
THE UNSULLIED 9655 0 1 0 DARK LOTUS 1659 MIKE DRE' 9651 411
VLAD TALTOS 9656 1 1 0 DARK LOTUS 1659 HADDYR WOTAN 9647 412
KIRARA 9639 1 1 0 THE SHADOW GUIL 1654 JOHN ASAZI 9617 410 REVENGED
ORAK STONEHAVEN 9654 0 3 0 THE SHADOW GUIL 1654 STONE GOLEM 414 NONE
PERSONAL ADS
Ageha of Shadow Guild -- A salute to you on your Duelmaster performance. That type
of wow-factor could make my show, you know? -- Ed Sullivan
Assur -- Am I going to be the one Consortium manager to have been massacred by you?
Kudos on your awesome start. -- Ed Sullivan
Do Nothing -- You did it well, too. Fortunately for me, I danced circles around you.
-- American Bandstand
Autumnbe -- I guess it is only proper that I fall to Fall? Shucks for me; kudos to
you. -- Fury
Oars -- That went swimmingly well for me! -- Mickey Mouse Club
Boring -- I am the only 60's challenge this round and I lost? It was boring, but
somehow you got those jurors on your side. Didn't Della show enough leg, I wonder?
-- Perry Mason
Searrus -- I soared, you seared. -- Sky King
Abyss -- My friend, look the CIC over closely. There are several charts other than
wit statements on it. Also, if you are really, really interested in experimenting
with godlings, then enter a Mailer Bloodgames (they occur at the time of Face To
Faces). You can design 10 warriors (One each style) of your own choosing and I can
assure you 99%ish are SZ 3, 21WT, 21WL! -- Ed Sullivan
How to design a godling? Godlings have ultra skills. WT WL, and DF are where the
most skills are. A smaller warrior allows more "points" for the other five stats, all
of which give skills. (esp. WT, WL, DF) Most, but not all, godlings start with 21
WT. Godlings are not necessarily optimized for physicals, as physicals tend to come
from CN, ST, SZ, and WL. Lucky (blessed) roll help as an "extra" amount of skills is
often a feature of a godling. How to get blessed rolls? Pray, beg, or bribe The
Commission. -- Ed Sullivan (who was a godling in his television time)
The Commission does not take bribes.
Abyss -- This turn should have a pretty detailed spotlight on the use of the CIC.
(Just for you! Well, and others, too.) -- Ed
Raven Leigh -- The Natural did leave the arena. It is true that The Commission threw
him out! He wasn't all bad; he did win. (wink) -- Producer (responding from
retirement.)
Autumnbe -- You "survive" simply due to me not desiring you dead. I've been having
fun poking your various body parts and as you've discovered to your dismay during our
last tussle upon the sands, I found a soft spot to poke. -- the Red Viper
All -- I hold a bloody axe dress in hatchet red. We speak languages people don't
understand. We send Faygo, via puntin', clear across the stadium in a fashion only
freak Juggalos could ever demand. I got ninjas in the back room wearin' "Anybody
Killa" paint and they've been there all along. -- Violent J
Ursus Draven -- It'll have to be quick, because when I hit ten fights, I get yanked
out of here. I don't think I go to another arena, I think I just get a pat on the
head and a "good work" salute. -- Koko Bella
Abyss -- I never noticed that nothing but wit statements get mentioned. I know that
other statements are meaningful, too, but it's been a LOOONG time since I looked at
those or any other charts. I hope that either Ed Sullivan or Assur will answer here,
but if they don't... I may have to hunt around for charts myself. I hope they
answer, because if I'm going to hunt for charts, it means (shudder) cleaning my
office. -- Jorja
I had an aimed blow with a 3 DF once. He finally graduated at something like 14-(it
was the fourteenth win that tipped him over the line)-96. He was one of the last to
make it out of Basic with that many fights, before the sandbagger automatic
graduation thing was enacted. As you can see from his record, he lost for YEARS.
And lost, and lost. Rather tedious, actually. He was fun to role-play along the
way, though. -- Jorja
It looks like we went four-one again, but it's hard to be sure. Sometimes those "was
demolished" and "devastated" and so on just confuse me, who demolished whom and so
on. Probably because I work with this newsletter at the end of a long day. -- Jorja,
Third Highway
Ursus Draven -- Armor, wear armor. Even leather helps. And if you challenge someone
with twice your experience, you should figure a loss for you is likely. -- Koko Bella
P.S. Why didn't you learn any skills? You were TRAINING skills, I hope?
Orak Stonehaven -- I don't know why YOU had to "pause to catch your breath" right at
the beginning, I was almost late for the fight. Hmm. There was a lot of manuevering
in our fight, wasn't there? I dunno why I ended up hitting you on the forehead. I
wasn't AIMING there. You must have ducked into the path of my blow. -- Lucky Chucky
Haddyr Wotan -- Tricky style for you. -- John Asazi
P.S. Jorja wondered if your manager knows anything about your origin? You're a LONG
way from home.
Mike Dre' -- We've thought about it and discussed it at our guildhouse, and the
concensus is that you're just crazy. That weapon, you know, and challenging so far
up in experience. -- Miggy Owens
P.S. You do realize that in order to learn skills, you have to train skills?
Raven Leigh -- That was well done. Of course, you're a woman, which automatically
makes "well done" more likely. -- Monna Kopo
Ed Sullivan -- Recognition Point!?! My scum would prefer to win and stay low. --
Assur
American Infidel -- Our job is to actually help prepare you for what you'll face when
you leave here. The information available to all managers is high and many have
managed for years and years and can draw upon knowledge and experience. It is also
why I highly recommend DM 21 for your first arena post Noblish Island. It won't
allow you to develop bad habits and win but it has a nice mix of managers that play
full time. But yes, part of our preparation job is to show you what well designed
and run warriors will do. Us 'teachers' don't use the Dark Arena, but we do our best
to win. As far as how long? A long time. - Assur
Abyss -- Not sure what is in the CIC. Notes about other messages: Your ability to
carry weight and your hit points are fixed exactly on your statistics. So the
message is just an indication of what the resulting number is. Endurance and Ability
to do Damage (usually called just damage) are random off of your starting stats.
Formulas you should know:
Carry = STR + (Lower of STR/CON). (Many translate your recommend max weigh as
Carry-6)
Hit Points = CN * 2 + (0-10 from size) + (0-5 from will)
Endurance = (STR + CON) * WIL
Questions
1. If you put your fighter's favorite weapon on their side, as a backup weapon, will
they still grab it, even though they have a weapon in their hand?
2. When you go to ADM, do you still "burn" skills or is that only during BASIC?
3. Should I take the Red Book and the CIC papers for their word?
4. What makes a "scum" really a scum?
5. Can a high will "15,17" and a low wit "9" make it to ADM?
6. What numbers should I watch out for, and where should I place them to make my
warriors more lucky?
7. What do I need to do to make my fighter want to wield two weapons, rather than
one?
Connor -- Nice fight. Next time we cross paths you will die by my sword, so tread
carefully. -- Spartan
American Infidel -- Looks like Dark Lotus is scared to come out and play. *laughs* --
Abyss
Toxic Storm -- Look don't expect for me to bef. I almost had Koko, the loss wasn't
that bad. One more shot & I want that loser John Asazi! -- Ursus Draven
Ursus Draven -- You were told last time to leave her alone. I want to taste her
blood. *smiles* -- Haddyr Wotan
Third Highway -- It's not about any long standing duel, it's about points. Nothing
personal or maybe it is. I dunno. -- Toxic Storm
Dark Lotus -- Little pig, little pig, let me in! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!!! -- Toxic
Storm
Jorja -- Thanks for your input on the fight styles. I want to try something new when
I build my next warrior. -- American Infidel
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
ORAK STONEHAVEN was butchered by STONE GOLEM in a 1 minute Dark Arena fight.
SPARTAN devastated MIKE DRE' in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge duel.
URSUS DRAVEN handily defeated JOHN ASAZI in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge match.
THE RED VIPER lost to AMERICAN BANDSTAND in a 1 minute amateur's Challenge brawl.
VIOLENT J was outlasted by BORING in a dull 10 minute amateur's Challenge competition.
SHAGGY 2 DOPE was outlasted by DO NOTHING in a 14 minute novice's Challenge struggle.
LA PATRONA was handily defeated by CONOR PYREHEART in a 4 minute Challenge fight.
BRIENNE was vanquished by FURY in a popular 1 minute uneven Challenge duel.
HADDYR WOTAN was vanquished by KOKO BELLA in a 3 minute one-sided Challenge duel.
RAVEN LEIGH was overcome by MIGGY OWENS in a 2 minute gory Challenge bout.
FREDDY was savagely defeated by LUCKY CHUCKY in a 5 minute bloody Challenge match.
AGEHA was overcome by KUNG-FU MASTER in a exciting 1 minute Title contest.
RAGE was subdued by MONNA KOPI in a 5 minute brawl.
JINN SHAKAR beat THE USEROUS MERCHANT in a crowd pleasing 1 minute conflict.
KURZAK was defeated by SKY KING in a 2 minute novice's duel.
OARS was unbelievably bested by MICKEY MOUSE CLUB in a 4 minute beginner's duel.
PERRY MASON was devastated by NHICOLE in a popular 1 minute mismatched brawl.
ROOKIES AND DONE beat STONG BELWAS in a exciting 6 minute novice's match.
TERRIBLE ATTACKERS executed CONVICTED THIEF in a unpopular 5 minute mismatched fight.
MODE PARRY bested MORDANT DESERTER in a 3 minute novice's bout.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|TOTAL PARRY 9 TOTAL PARRY 29 - 16 - 1 64 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 4 LUNGING ATTACK 14 - 8 - 0 64 |
|AIMED BLOW 4 SLASHING ATTACK 19 - 16 - 3 54 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 4 BASHING ATTACK 35 - 32 - 2 52 |
|BASHING ATTACK 4 PARRY-RIPOSTE 14 - 14 - 0 50 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 3 WALL OF STEEL 37 - 39 - 1 49 |
|WALL OF STEEL 3 STRIKING ATTACK 21 - 23 - 0 48 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 2 AIMED BLOW 18 - 24 - 0 43 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 2 PARRY-STRIKE 6 - 16 - 1 27 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 - 0 0 |
Turn 414 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:
TOTAL PARRY 7 - 2 WALL OF STEEL 1 - 2 3 SLASHING ATTACK
SLASHING ATTACK 3 - 1 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 2 LUNGING ATTACK
LUNGING ATTACK 2 - 1 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 2 2 TOTAL PARRY
AIMED BLOW 2 - 2 BASHING ATTACK 0 - 4 1 BASHING ATTACK
PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 - 1 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE
STRIKING ATTACK 2 - 2 1 AIMED BLOW
1 STRIKING ATTACK
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
BASHING ATTACK AGEHA 9613 6 2 0 55 THE SHADOW GUILD (1654)
PARRY-RIPOSTE KOKO BELLA 9618 8 1 0 42 THIRD HIGHWAY (1642)
LUNGING ATTACK JINN SHAKAR 9653 5 0 0 42 PHOENIX GUARD (1655)
TOTAL PARRY CONOR PYREHEART 9624 4 3 0 35 PHOENIX GUARD (1655)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is KOKO BELLA 9618. The most popular warrior this turn
was KOKO BELLA 9618. The ten other most popular fighters were OARS 9661, STONG
BELWAS 9685, MONNA KOPI 9620, SKY KING 9672, AMERICAN BANDSTAND 9668, CONOR PYREHEART
9624, FURY 9671, MIGGY OWENS 9621, RAGE 9628, and JINN SHAKAR 9653.
The least popular fighter this week was DO NOTHING 9679. The other ten least popular
fighters were BORING 9681, VIOLENT J 9658, TERRIBLE ATTACKERS 9682, MODE PARRY 9683,
ROOKIES AND DONE 9680, LA PATRONA 9649, MICKEY MOUSE CLUB 9669, KURZAK 9660, LUCKY
CHUCKY 9619, and BRIENNE 9657.
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)
NEW GRADUATES--FROM ALL ARENAS (INCLUDING CLOSED ARENAS)
For those of you who keep track of such things, several additional warriors
graduated from regular DM arenas (including closed arenas) since the last tournament.
STINGER (30-4098) RANDOM (391)
BUCK ROGERS (82-53730) LUROCIANS T108 (9073)
FRIED DUCKPINS (82-52331) 120507F (8812)
JESSICA (82-53734) LUROCIANS T108 (9073)
7TH SAMURAI (82-54800) SUPE FORCES 1801 (9246)
STEAMING EARL (82-24992) SAUNA TIME (3991)
ARNOLD LAYNE (82-52842) ROOKIE PINK 1 (8905)
HORMONE HOAGIE (82-55291) 01808X (9340)
MINGE THE MARVELOUS (82-44835) HOLE IN THE WALL (7539)
CHILI CHEESE (82-19622) NOTHING BUT DIP (3042)
POST OFFICE BUILDING (84-4780) S. FORCES 7804 (916)
HANNIBAL LECTER (84-8637) STATE OF MIND (1582)
BUTT GOBLIN (84-14415) 060310M (2531)
Congrats to the grads. -- Green Eyes