DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER

Date   : 06/10/2016    Duedate: 06/23/2016

NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA

DM-93    TURN-454

This Weeks Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

REPETITIVE
BB TALK RADIO (1700)
(93-9916) [3-0-1,27]

Chartered Recognition Leader   Unchartered Recognition Leader

POSITION IS EMPTY              REPETITIVE
                               BB TALK RADIO (1700)
                               (93-9916) [3-0-1,27]

Popularity Leader              This Weeks Favorite

DUMB TOPICS                    CANNELTON
BB TALK RADIO (1700)           RIVER RATS (1699)
(93-9918) [3-0-0,21]           (93-9913) [1-2-0,10]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

BB TALK RADIO (1700)

          TEAMS ON THE MOVE            TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name                  Point Gain  Chartered Team
1. RIVER RATS (1699)           27
2. BB TALK RADIO (1700)        23      RAGE (388)
3. OZ (1702)                   23      Unchartered Team
4. BATTLE CHASERS (304)         1
5. COYOTES (1701)             -11      BB TALK RADIO (1700)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record           W   L  K    %  Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns    W  L K
 1/ 1*BB TALK RADIO (1700)      11   4  1 73.3   1/ 1*BB TALK RADIO (1700)     11  4 1
 2/ 3*RIVER RATS (1699)          9   6  0 60.0   2/ 3*RIVER RATS (1699)         9  6 0
 3/ 2*COYOTES (1701)             3   7  1 30.0   3/ 4*COYOTES (1701)            3  7 1
 4/ 5*OZ (1702)                  2   7  0 22.2   4/ 5*OZ (1702)                 2  7 0
 5/ 0*BATTLE CHASERS (304)       0   3  0  0.0   5/ 0*BATTLE CHASERS (304)      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

                                 CHALLENGE AND AVOID

                                A STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE

     Challenges, and their partner "avoids" are underused strategic weapons. Don't be 
left home without them!
     An avoid is an attempt to prevent a warrior from challenging you. Why allow a 
warrior the advantage of selecting you for a match? Why allow a warrior to decide on a 
special strategy just for you? One great thing about avoids is that you may avoid THE 
WHOLE TEAM of any warrior you want to avoid. You are allowed to avoid two whole teams. 
There is no use double-avoiding as it does not improve your chances to avoid that 
individual team.
     A challenge is an attempt to fight a specific warrior. Why not attempt to fight a 
specific warrior of choice? Why leave the opponent selection to the MUGS (match-up 
gods) or, worse yet, an opponent who chooses/challenges you? You are allowed to 
challenge two warriors. You may, indeed, challenge the same warrior twice. (Double 
challenge) It DOES improve your chances of a match to double challenge a same warrior.
     Of utmost importance is to understand that you must challenge and avoid NUMBERS, 
not names. Challenge WARRIOR NUMBERS. Avoid TEAM NUMBERS. Challenge individual 
warriors; avoid whole teams.
     No challenge or avoid is 100 percent effective. Challenges can be further 
enhanced by winning a TV or TC (Tournament Victor; Tournament Champion) in a Mailer or 
Face-to-Face Tournament. The TV/TC effectiveness lasts six months. So, in a normal 
arena, the warrior who won the TV gets 12 or 13 turns of enhanced challenging. The 
most effective challenge, The Blood Feud, is nearly 100 percent effective. A four turn 
BLOOD FEUD is awarded to your TEAM (Any member can use it each turn.) when an opposing 
warrior kills one of yours. Blood feuds transcend classes. (E.g. a Challenger can 
BLOOD FEUD an Adept or an Initiate can BLOOD FEUD a Challenger Champion, etc.) To use 
a TV or Blood Feud, simply write BF or TV on the challenge line with the to-be-
challenged warrior number and circle it all for emphasis.
     How does one choose whom to challenge and what to avoid? That's a good question 
and like many decisions, they are more of an art than a technology. This is the 
methodology used by The Consortium managers. It works well for them.
1.	Always avoid two different teams
2.	Actively seek to challenge twice. (If only one good choice is available, 
double challenge.)
3.	Challenge for these situations
a.	A probable win
b.	A warrior you have beaten before
c.	To tie up a warrior you do not want to fight one of your fellow warriors b 
especially the Duelmaster
d.	To take advantage of a Blood Feud (4 rounds)
e.	For a good style match up.
4.	Avoid for these situations b always
a.	Emphasis on a team who is bloodfeuding you
b.	Emphasis on a team who just beat you
c.	Emphasis on a team with warriors in range who are far more experienced or 
skilled than you
d.	Emphasis on a team you just cannot seem to beat.
e.	Emphasis on teams with warriors whose styles are difficult for your style 
Often there will be more warriors to challenge or more teams to avoid than the 
strategy sheets allow. Choose wisely.
     Most of the circumstances are straightforward, and it is easy to select the 
challenges and avoids. However, in many cases, especially those with little knowledge 
of nearby opponents, it will come down to what style or type of warrior is best to 
challenge/avoid.  There are available charts "out there" which prioritize which styles 
have advantages over other styles. Beware of them. The data is based on warriors over 
the years and those managers who submitted data for those charts. The warning b 
today's lunger is not yesterday's lunger, and my aimed blow is not your aimed blow, 
and today's basher is not yesteryear's basher, and a tourney warrior is not 
necessarily an arena warrior, etc, etc, etc. The Consortium offers their generic style 
considerations for challenges and avoids:
1.	Fast offensives challenge AB, slower BA, SL, ST
2.	Aimers challenge scummy/tanky warriors
3.	Scums challenge LU and softer hitting/smaller offensives
4.	Scum hunters (need special strategy ) are good damage/endu LU, hard hitting 
BA, critting or hard hitting ST, hard hitting SL with good endu, good PS
5.	Consortium-style wastes challenge LU and softer hitting/smaller offensives
6.	Lungers challenge AB, PR, PS
7.	Rippers, if skilled, challenge ST, faster BA's. The Consortium always avoids 
and almost always challenges.
     One final note. The challenging will bring into play and discussion: What is an 
appropriate challenge?" The "rules"/"D2 system" allow you to challenge anyone in your 
class and the class just above you. Your class is defined, interestingly, as Inits, 
Adepts, Champs, and Duelmaster. A "Challenger" Init is an Init b challenge wise. A 
"Challenger" Champ is a Champ bchallenge wise. Hence the higher level challenger 
category can challenge the lower level "non-challenger" class.  (Simply put, a 
Challenger Init can challenge an Init, a challenger Init, and an Adept. An Adept can 
challenge Adepts or Challenger Adepts.) This system can allow/cause challenges from 
very high experience and recognition point warriors to very low recognition point and 
experience warriors.  Some regular arenas foster the belief that challenges may/should 
ONLY be parallel or up in recognition points. These are usually Andorian arenas. The 
rules/system may allow otherwise, but the environment and the beliefs of sportsmanship 
of Andorian types differ. This can cause some "discussion altercations". 
     Challenges and avoids are there to be used to your advantage. Do so.

                                          -- Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry 
                                             (Consortium affiliated)

                                      SPY REPORT

     I was going on vacation, see?  Surf, sun...  But what do those bums say?  "Hit 
the road, Debby Tonte.  NOBLISH ISLAND needs a spyreport."  Oh, well.  MVP award for 
TINMAN?  OZ's proud of him after beating DOGMEAT and getting 10 points.  Talk about 
yer major upsets!  DOGMEAT's match with TINMAN cost it a loss of 6 points!  Was that 
a tear I saw in REPETITIVE's eye, as he took over Duelmastership?  And wasn't TROY 
fit to be tied!  Who was the wiseguy that said NOBLISH ISLAND's Duelmaster was paying 
for drinks at The Swinging Aardvark?  Don't look at me!   
     I gotta admit I haven't been in "deep con caves" with any spies.  Really, I just 
wing this stuff.  The warriors of BB TALK RADIO must be getting lonely.  They were 
the most avoided team.  Do you guys know something that I don't?  I don't know what 
RIVER RATS' been doing.  They certainly haven't been accepting many fights from BB 
TALK RADIO, that's fer sher.  Can BB TALK RADIO's REPETITIVE be more popular than me? 
He was challenged the most, but is that really the same?   
     Man, all these warriors dying and killing each other!  Don't you guys ever give 
it a break?  MONKEY bloodfeuded (is that a word?) CRESHENDO for revenge over some 
guy's bad fortune.  Was it really worth it?  Hey you guys, don't you think your 
families would like to hear from you?  Write!  (Or have someone write for you.)  
     I really didn't, you know, study when I was a kid.  Who would've guessed I'd be 
a famous Spyreporter?  I'm getting tired of writing this stuff, so I'm calling it 
quits.  Its been really albendranius!  Later, guys-- Debby Tonte  

DUELMASTER                     W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 REPETITIVE 9916               3   0  1    27       BB TALK RADIO (1700)

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 DUMB TOPICS 9918              3   0  0    21       BB TALK RADIO (1700)
 BORING HOST 9919              3   0  0    19       BB TALK RADIO (1700)
 IDIOTS 9917                   2   1  0    18       BB TALK RADIO (1700)
 TOBINSPORT 9914               2   1  0    18       RIVER RATS (1699)
 ROME 9912                     2   1  0    14       RIVER RATS (1699)
 TELL CITY 9915                2   1  0    13       RIVER RATS (1699)
-AUTUMNBE 9643                 3   2  0    12       CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
 TINMAN 9927                   1   1  0    12       OZ (1702)
 MONKEY 9926                   1   1  0    12       OZ (1702)
 CANNELTON 9913                1   2  0    10       RIVER RATS (1699)
 TROY 9911                     2   1  0     7       RIVER RATS (1699)
-DRAXXUS 9644                  1   4  0     7       CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
 CRESHENDO 9922                1   1  1     5       COYOTES (1701)
 RAZURE 9923                   1   1  0     5       COYOTES (1701)
 DOGMEAT 9924                  1   1  0     4       COYOTES (1701)

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-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)
 COMMERCIALS 9920              0   3  0     3       BB TALK RADIO (1700)
 RED MONIKA 1689               0   3  0     3       BATTLE CHASERS (304)
 SCARECROW 9929                0   2  0     2       OZ (1702)
 WIZZARD 9928                  0   2  0     2       OZ (1702)
 IMMURE 9936                   0   1  0     1       COYOTES (1701)
 COURSER 9937                  0   1  0     1       COYOTES (1701)

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

THE DEAD                W  L K TEAM NAME            SLAIN BY              TURN Revenge?
LOLLY POPPER 9921       0  1 0 COYOTES 1701         REPETITIVE 9916       453   
DOROTHY 9930            0  1 0 OZ 1702              CRESHENDO 9922        453  JUST REVENGED

                                     PERSONAL ADS

Fighting Irish, good luck to you wherever you go. -- The Consortium Folk

Oz, how nice to meet you and have you here on Noblish. May your stay be long and 
prosperous. -- Commodore Perry
P.S. Our good friend The Great And Wonderful Oz manages a team in DM47 - Land Of Oz. 
He is a real old-timer to The Consortium group.

1-2, Assur? You are making my life miserable. Kudos. -- The Commodore 

Scarecrow and Wizard, we may have more to say after the actual fights are received. 
Until then, we are glad you are here. -- Troy and Tobinsport

Ah, Heck, Commodore, Talk Radio is easy! -- Rome

Coyotes, Caveats, Battle Chasers, Ozers ..... ask us some questions. We are here to 
answer. -- Commodore Perry (speaking for both himself and Assur)

Oz, I added this personal after reading our two fights. It was unusual to see you 
select weapons where both were lacking in strength. Perhaps that was intentional; 
warriors can, indeed, fight with weapons they do not have the strength to handle. 
While there are penalties (unknown in exactness) often that is not much of a factor. 
But, there is no doubt that warriors fight better with weapons they are fully suited 
to. If you wish to know specific requirements, just ask. Better yet, ask RSI for a 
copy of the C.I.C. which is designed for newbies and has all the data on weapon 
requirements. (And much more.) -- The Commodore

Wow.  The Coyotes got quite the friendly welcome to Noblish Island.  Rookie Team with 
Five rookie warriors.  Both female warriors slain in battle in less than two minutes-
Lessons learned at the hands of Donn and Repetitive.  Guess we have a steep learning 
curve in the arena. -- Coyote

Coyotes -- Yikes, please accept my apologies about Kitiara, it was most unexpected and 
unintentional. If its any consolation the same thing happened to my PR a few turns 
back. I hope at least you got a decent replacement rollup -- Donn

Commodore Perry -- And that is what it looks like when I actually DO make challenges 
and avoids! -- Assur

Lolly Popper -- My apologies.  I gave no such instructions.  My instructions were (and 
almost always are) to attack the limbs, not the head.  But sometimes warriors don't 
listen.  Not surprising with that one.  Repetitive people often don't listen! -- Assur

                                  LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

MONKEY bested CRESHENDO in a 1 minute amateur's Bloodfeud fight.
TROY was vanquished by REPETITIVE in a 1 minute uneven Challenge Title battle.
CANNELTON narrowly defeated COMMERCIALS in a 6 minute beginner's Challenge fight.
RED MONIKA was overpowered by DUMB TOPICS in a 1 minute one-sided fight.
ROME devastated IMMURE in a 1 minute uneven brawl.
TOBINSPORT overpowered COURSER in a 1 minute one-sided struggle.
TELL CITY devastated WIZZARD in a 1 minute one-sided competition.
IDIOTS overcame SCARECROW in a 2 minute beginner's melee.
BORING HOST won victory over RAZURE in a 1 minute novice's duel.
DOGMEAT was viciously subdued by TINMAN in a 7 minute gory novice's duel.

                                    BATTLE REPORT

             MOST POPULAR                        RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS     
|FIGHTING STYLE               FIGHTS        FIGHTING STYLE     W -   L -  K   PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK                   6         TOTAL PARRY       13 -   4 -  0      76  |
|AIMED BLOW                       3         BASHING ATTACK    25 -   9 -  1      74  |
|STRIKING ATTACK                  3         WALL OF STEEL      7 -   3 -  1      70  |
|LUNGING ATTACK                   2         STRIKING ATTACK    7 -   4 -  2      64  |
|SLASHING ATTACK                  2         SLASHING ATTACK    3 -   2 -  0      60  |
|WALL OF STEEL                    2         PARRY-RIPOSTE     16 -  18 -  1      47  |
|PARRY-STRIKE                     1         LUNGING ATTACK    11 -  15 -  0      42  |
|PARRY-LUNGE                      1         AIMED BLOW         8 -  20 -  0      29  |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE                    0         PARRY-STRIKE       2 -   8 -  0      20  |
|TOTAL PARRY                      0         PARRY-LUNGE        0 -   4 -  0       0  |

Turn 454 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:

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

                               TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.

The overall popularity leader is DUMB TOPICS 9918.  The most popular warrior this 
turn was CANNELTON 9913.  The ten other most popular fighters were DUMB TOPICS 9918, 
IDIOTS 9917, DOGMEAT 9924, REPETITIVE 9916, COMMERCIALS 9920, ROME 9912, TOBINSPORT 
9914, TELL CITY 9915, BORING HOST 9919, and TINMAN 9927.

The least popular fighter this week was WIZZARD 9928.  The other ten least popular 
fighters were COURSER 9937, IMMURE 9936, RED MONIKA 1689, TROY 9911, CRESHENDO 9922, 
RAZURE 9923, SCARECROW 9929, MONKEY 9926, TINMAN 9927, and BORING HOST 9919.

                  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

                      Top 10 Things to Do to Have a Better FTF!

10.  Have at least one meal that doesn't involve either McDonalds or Domino's Pizza.  
Bonus points if that meal includes the use of utensils.  (Double bonus points if you 
already knew how to use utensils)

 9.  Recycle all those cover sheets and unwanted roll-ups into ammunition for the next 
great paper ball fight!  (And don't assume that because you don't have any ammo, 
you're not in the game.  When these things break out, ANYONE is a potential target!  
Don't assume that I'm going to throw AROUND you to get to my target, if you're sitting 
there in the middle of things trying to read your fights as the paper balls fly in all 
direction, you're not only likely to get hit by a misfired projectile, but I will be 
aiming for you!)

 8.  Showering at least once a day is not an option.  REPEAT:  Showering at least once 
a day, is NOT AN OPTION!!!

 7.  Much like a watched pot never boils, asking if your overviews or reprints are 
there yet every three minutes will only make the person sitting behind the desk 
irritable (or even more so than usual).  They'll be there when they get there.

 6.  Yes, the printer will break down, the hard drive will crash, and RSI will undergo 
some sort of catastrophe.  This is normal.  Be prepared for long delays.  Some people 
like to play Magic while waiting, some of us prefer heavy drinking.  

 5.  For you first timers, it is customary to do a triumphant little war dance each 
and every time you win a fight, complete with whoop-whoops.  That's what the raised 
platform is for, so the rest of us can see you.  If you don't do the dance, RSI will 
take away your TVs and you will forever get 3 WT roll-ups.  Would I lie to you?  

 4.  Converse with your fellow managers.  Take the time to chat, and introduce 
yourself to at least one complete stranger.  "Have you seen this warrior?" is not a 
good way to introduce yourself.  "Hi, my name is _______ and I run _______; nice to 
meet you!" is a much better way to introduce yourself.

 3.  When the run off fights are being read, I want to hear a lot of noise!  Cheer 
every time a brilliant parry is made, shudder at the impact of a horrific blow, laugh 
derisively when a warrior falls down.  Cheer those who read a good fight, and heckle 
those who can't.  Get crazy.  MAKE SOME NOISE GOLDURNIT!!!

 2.  Conversely, if you insist on reading your fights out loud and you don't have an 
audience, go back to your room until the urge passes.

 1.  Buy your good ol' buddy Forge a beer!

  As always, your own tips and comments are appreciated.  *LOL!*  Hope to see you all 
there!

                                                                      -- Forge

                              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.)

                          'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE TOURNEY...

'Twas the night before Tourney, And all through the place
Many managers were drinking, Getting smashed at the Face;
The staff were all busy, The computers were humming,
Rollups were bought, for the deadline was coming;
 
Soon managers were nestled, all smug at their tables,
With visions of TC's coming from their stables;
And NAIMT doing massages, while A-Sop caused trouble,
An hour before deadline, the workload just doubled,
 
When by the computers, there arose such a clatter,
All eyes turned to them, to see what was the matter.
Sue glaring at the screen, Lee's fingers just flew,
Oh, the computer was down, so what else was new?
 
The lights in the room were too bright, someone said,
Nah, it's just the reflection from off Hoffa's head,
Then, what to our wondering eyes should appear,
But Soultaker and Sentinel, once again here this year, 

Yes, we heard "No more Faces!", We hear this each time,
But we know it's a farce, like this parody's rhyme.
More rollups are bought, more warriors are made,
Names are thought up, and carefully weighed;

"How 'bout FREE WILLY? Or RODMAN? Or PUSSY? Or KNOCKERS? 
Or SHEIK T'WEEZEL? Or BALLSY? Or TAKE OFF THEM DOCKERS!?
Not a chance say the censors! Nice try, bub, but no!
Now it's HAPPY, and BARNEY, and WE LOVE YOU SO! 

The managers groan, but undaunted keep trying,
The censors all laugh, and just are not buying,
The RUGS altars are burning, offerings are gifted,
With hopes that the rollup curses soon will be lifted.

And then, in a twinkling, we hear down the hall,
A Lunat!k roar and Fusion chased with a maul.
You see, he'd heard about Fusion's campaign for the Prez,
Now it's "Off with his Head!", so Lunat!k says. 

At the Dark Circle table, 6'7" down in height,
With their arrogant statures, their great show of might.
Yet amidst all the notebooks, are nerf toys and giraffe,
Such silliness there, NAIMT can't help but laugh. 

At Aradi's table -- how they giggle, at the cartoons and stories 
Of the FONZ done by Nuln, in his infinite glories!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a ring,
And Barb drew his beard as straggly as string; 

The new guys at Duelmasters, some call them a rookie,
Making names for themselves like Jessie and Bookie;
The regulars are here, The Boss, PUG, and TUM
Carapace, Sensei, and lots more to come
 
Doc Steele and his legends, even now in the making,
If there weren't many witnesses, I'd think he was faking.
The paperball fight, and the chaos ensues,
Clean it up, says Lee, or your heads you will lose!

The independents and alliances, speaking more than a word,
NAIMT's resounding giggles can also be heard;
But the hour before deadline is soon at a close, 
And giving a nod, on a chair Sandy rose; 

Okay guys, she says, no more inputs to be made,
And away goes some managers for a Bourbon Street raid.
But ere I end this bad poem, I just want to say,
"GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD DAY!"

****Hey, what do you expect for a quickie?... <grin>

                                  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