DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 03/17/2017 Duedate: 03/30/2017
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-474
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
THUNDER WONDER
DARK CLOUDS (1719)
(93-10029) [3-1-0,56]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
POSITION IS EMPTY THUNDER WONDER
DARK CLOUDS (1719)
(93-10029) [3-1-0,56]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
HASAMI ANNE BONNY
DRIFTY DREAMS (1717) FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
(93-10016) [2-2-0,18] (93-10030) [2-1-1,21]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. GREYSKULL (1710) 44
2. MISFIT KINGS (1722) 43 THE MUPPETS (132)
3. LINKS OF TERROR (1718) 33 Unchartered Team
4. DARK CLOUDS (1719) 18
5. FAMOUS PIRATES (1720) 2 MISFIT KINGS (1722)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 0*MISFIT KINGS (1722) 4 1 0 80.0 1/ 3*FAMOUS PIRATES (1720) 9 6 2
2/ 2*LINKS OF TERROR (1718) 12 8 1 60.0 2/ 1*LINKS OF TERROR (1718) 9 6 1
3/ 1*FAMOUS PIRATES (1720) 9 6 2 60.0 3/ 2*DARK CLOUDS (1719) 8 7 0
4/ 4*DARK CLOUDS (1719) 11 9 0 55.0 4/ 4*DRIFTY DREAMS (1717) 7 7 0
5/ 5*DRIFTY DREAMS (1717) 9 10 0 47.4 5/ 5*BASH BROS PEPPER (1721) 7 8 0
6/ 3*BASH BROS PEPPER (1721) 7 8 0 46.7 6/ 6*GREYSKULL (1710) 6 7 0
7/ 7*GREYSKULL (1710) 14 20 0 41.2 7/ 0*MISFIT KINGS (1722) 4 1 0
8/ 8*HI NO UMI (1715) 1 3 0 25.0 8/ 7*HI NO UMI (1715) 1 2 0
9- 9*ODD SQUAD (1712) 2 7 0 22.2 9- 9*ODD SQUAD (1712) 0 5 0
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
THE ART OF WINNING
Your warriors are putting up a good fight, but just can't seem to win? Perhaps
this list of recommended Consortium actions can help?
1. Always challenge and avoid. Use the challenge and if-challenged strategies on your
strategy sheet to manipulate fights in your favor.
2. Challenge warriors you have beaten before and styles your warrior has the
advantage with. (E.g. AB challenge TP, TP challenge LU, ST challenge SL, SL
challenge LU, etc.). Take advantage of blood feuds to enhance challenges.
3. Avoid teams who seem to regularly beat you and teams with nearby warriors with
styles which have an advantage over your warrior. Avoid the team that just beat
you last fight.
4. Make your warrior do what his style does best. (E.g. ST s get the jump, LUs dodge,
TPs parry, etc.)
5. Use high CN to your advantage by soaking hits and then later hitting and finishing
a worn down opponent.
6. Pay attention to where an opponent is aiming his attacks and protect that location
on subsequent fights.
7. Be bad! "Pick on" warriors with less skill, less experience, or lots of losses.
8. Pay attention to fight history in your arena. Know which are tournament warriors,
sandbaggers, etc. with hidden FE. (Fight experience.) These warriors are likely
highly skilled compared to your normal arena warrior. Stay clear of them.
(Uncommon in DM93, but common elsewhere.)
9. Use tactics appropriately b Decise to help you get the jump, Dodge to help you
avoid being hit, Slash or Bash to hit harder, Parry to focus on parry, Response to
counter known decise users.
10. Dress appropriately--naked is faster/quicker, plated is most protected and
sponges best, but slower. Do not overdress and excessively encumber your warrior's
ability to carry and endure.
11. Watch fights carefully to find a favored weapon--one which you crit often with or
which you get lots of extra value hits. Use that weapon and maybe those similar to
it.
12. Know your opposing manager's styles and methods. Try to fight weaker managers and
avoid those who just seem to win lots.
13. If your warrior is in a difficult spot in the rankings/arena listing, sit him out.
Don't fight if you do not have a good chance to win. (e.g., your 5 FE warrior has
jumped way up in the rankings and is surrounded--much more experienced warriors,
or your scum TP is surrounded--aimed-blows, etc.)
14. Phone a friend. Write with questions. Ask for help or advice. The right helpful
person is likely to want to help you succeed.
15. Try to manipulate your fight so you match with an NPC. (Non-playing-character; RSI
Stand-In.)
16. Send your warrior to tournaments. It gets hidden FE on his record and ups his
skill/stat level unbeknownst to those paying little attention.
17. Pay attention to fighting in your arena. Know whom is using strategies set on
maintenance and take advantage of it--challenging and adjusting your strategies to
beat them.
18. Design warriors to win rather than to look godling-like. Sure, skills are
important, but maybe not as important as physicals -- especially early on.
19. Take advantage of arena DM93. Read the spotlights, particularly those at the top,
as the latter ones can--outdated. Know your C.I.C. package info well.
20. Cheer on your warriors. Stay excited! Rah, rah, rah.
Old Pegleg (Transcribed from Pirateese--The Scribe) Consortium affiliated
***---------*---------*---------*---------**---------*---------*---------*---------***
Assur's Weapon Requirement Chart (without the inaccuracies)
Over the years, many people have published weapon charts. Most of them have had
mistakes. This is the correct weapon chart and you should discard all others.
STR SIZ WIT DFT STR SIZ WIT DFT
Battle Axe 15 3 7 9 Maul 15 9 5 7
Broadsword 11 3 9 7 Morning Star 13 3 9 11
Dagger 3 3 7 7 Quarterstaff 11 9 11 11
Epee 7 3 15 15 Scimitar 9 3 11 11
Great Axe 13 3 9 11 Shortsword 5 3 11 3
Greatsword 15 9 9 11 Shortspear 9 3 5 7
Hatchet 7 3 5 7 War Flail 11 3 5 5
Halberd 17 9 9 11 War Hammer 13 3 5 7
Longsword 11 3 13 11 Large Shield 13 7 3 7
Longspear 11 9 5 9 Medium Shield 9 3 3 5
Mace 13 3 3 5 Small Shield 5 3 3 5
** Battle Axe requires 9 size if you are carrying an off hand weapon
Off Hand
No Wit Requirement
Strength Requirement same as for Main Hand
No Size Requirement
Off Hand Deftness Requirements
For this section, you look at the weapons you want to use in your main hand (MH)
and off hand (OH). From the chart above find their deftness requirements. Use these
values in the chart below (MH on the left, OH on the top) and the result is the
deftness to use them together.
Examples: Suppose your scum wants to use ME in your main hand and LG in your off
hand. Cross referencing, 5 on the left, 7 on the top, you'll see that the required
deftness to use them together is 9.
MH\OH 3 5 7 9 11 15
3 4 6 8 10 12 16
5 5 7 9 11 13 17
7 6 8 10 12 14 18
9 7 9 11 13 15 19
11 8 10 12 14 16 20
15 10 12 14 16 18 22
Caveats: In finding the values for this chart, there have been inconsistencies. The
chart shows the value that we believe will always--well suited. Some warriors seem
to--able to use weapons in both hands with lower deftness than the chart shows. So
far, I have not seen evidence for a warrior requiring more than the value shown. Note
that some values make little sense. (While you can use an EP with an off hand SH
together with 10 deftness, you would still lack 5 points of deftness to use the Epee.)
SPY REPORT
So why do I have this bag over my head? Because I am The Unknown Spymaster and
I'm going to give you a spy report!. Say good-bye to LINKS OF TERROR, as they are
pushed from the coveted top team spot by the FAMOUS PIRATES stable. Don't these new
hotshots make you sick (or, if they fought you, hurt)? MISFIT KINGS, on their very
first turn, went 4-1-0. Hey everybody, watch out for FENRIS WULFE, who flew up 18
points in the rankings after mashing JINGLE BELL like a melon. Keep your eye on this
guy. Ya know, some days it doesn't pay to walk out on the sands. JINGLE BELL was
subdued by FENRIS WULFE and drops 10 points. Our Duelmaster has lost, folks, lost to
CONVICTED ASSASSIN, BUT THUNDER WONDER is still the Duelmaster because she has the
most recognition points! 4 out of 5 gladiators surveyed protect the body, so try and
avoid aiming at that location.
Let's dig a little deeper into what's happening in the NOBLISH ISLAND arena.
Did you hear that DRIFTY DREAMS was most avoided team this week? Well, knowing the
personal hygiene of DRIFTY DREAMS' warriors, I'm not surprised! For those of you who
like math, try this one: DRIFTY DREAMS + Weapons That go Boom = FAMOUS PIRATES +
Avoid City. Well dang howdy, but if challenges were votes, TONARION would be
president. Although it may be a contest he doesn't want to win.
Death is kind of like a new puppy: he's always around wanting to play. (Ha
Zontani, how's that for a wise saying?). In the 'Oops, What Have I Done?' category,
ANNE BONNY was mashed by FRENAR, who let ANNE BONNY know that killing members of
LINKS OF TERROR is a no-no. Ask not the elves for counsel, for they will say both
yes and no. Silly buggers, eh?
Well, that wasn't too bad; Alarond told me that the people in NOBLISH ISLAND
have no sense of humor. Or maybe that they were senseless. C'mon, Leadfoot, let's
make some tracks. Its been fun, and I'm sure you enjoyed it (boos). Now that I've
got you worked up for Snide Clemens, I'll be leaving-- The Unknown Spymaster
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
THUNDER WONDER 10029 3 1 0 56 DARK CLOUDS (1719)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
VIOLET 10004 6 0 0 50 GREYSKULL (1710)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
FRENAR 10022 4 0 0 28 LINKS OF TERROR (1718)
BLACKBEARD 10031 3 0 0 28 FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
KAR'RYN 9974 3 4 0 23 GREYSKULL (1710)
RAN OUT 10035 2 1 0 22 BASH BROS PEPPER (1721)
GOING WITHOUT 10037 3 0 0 21 BASH BROS PEPPER (1721)
ANNE BONNY 10030 2 1 1 21 FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
KIRENN 10020 3 1 1 18 LINKS OF TERROR (1718)
HASAMI 10016 2 2 0 18 DRIFTY DREAMS (1717)
FENRIS WULFE 10054 1 0 0 18 GREYSKULL (1710)
ELYTRA 10025 3 1 0 17 DARK CLOUDS (1719)
CAPTAIN KIDD 10034 2 1 1 16 FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
JOPAR 10023 2 2 0 14 LINKS OF TERROR (1718)
DAKUROZU 10026 1 3 0 14 DARK CLOUDS (1719)
HABBUBLER 10047 1 0 0 13 MISFIT KINGS (1722)
LADYHAWKEYE 10044 1 0 0 13 MISFIT KINGS (1722)
-AUTUMNBE 9643 3 2 0 12 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
RAIN STORM 10028 3 1 0 11 DARK CLOUDS (1719)
JINGLE BELL 10015 3 1 0 10 DRIFTY DREAMS (1717)
-OTOKO 10008 1 0 0 10 HI NO UMI (1715)
TONARION 10024 2 2 0 8 LINKS OF TERROR (1718)
CLOUDSPICE 10018 2 2 0 8 DRIFTY DREAMS (1717)
CANDY CANE 10019 1 3 0 8 DRIFTY DREAMS (1717)
-ONIHANA 10017 1 2 0 8 DRIFTY DREAMS (1717)
BEOWULFISH 10043 1 0 0 8 MISFIT KINGS (1722)
SIR TALON 10046 1 0 0 8 MISFIT KINGS (1722)
-JINXEE 9988 2 1 0 7 ODD SQUAD (1712)
-DRAXXUS 9644 1 4 0 7 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
BONGO 10027 1 3 0 6 DARK CLOUDS (1719)
HENRY MORGAN 10032 1 2 0 5 FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
NOT ENOUGH 10038 1 2 0 5 BASH BROS PEPPER (1721)
FILL THE SHAKER 10036 1 2 0 5 BASH BROS PEPPER (1721)
-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)
NOTHING 10039 0 3 0 3 BASH BROS PEPPER (1721)
POKEY 10040 0 2 0 2 GREYSKULL (1710)
-SANCHOO 10006 0 1 0 1 HI NO UMI (1715)
-YOSHI 10007 0 1 0 1 HI NO UMI (1715)
ONNA NO KO 10009 0 1 0 1 HI NO UMI (1715)
ALEXANDERKIN 10045 0 1 0 1 MISFIT KINGS (1722)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
FLUYE 10053 0 1 0 1 LINKS OF TERROR (1718)
-CRISPEN 9987 0 1 0 1 ODD SQUAD (1712)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
FRANCIS DRAKE 10033 1 2 0 FAMOUS PIRATES 1720 KIRENN 10020 474
ORTHAR 10042 0 3 0 GREYSKULL 1710 BANDIT PRINCE 474 NONE
ZENZA 10021 1 2 0 LINKS OF TERROR 1718 ANNE BONNY 10030 473 JUST REVENGED
BIXIE 9989 0 3 0 ODD SQUAD 1712 CAPTAIN KIDD 10034 472
PERSONAL ADS
Ahoy, Bucko! Thunder Wonder champeen! Aye. -- Old Pegleg
Orthar, I salute ye on yon fine fight. -- Sir Francis Drake, The Honorable Pirate
Tonarion, ye bilge-suckin' Scurvy! Ye done hurt us 'n us pirates gonna git ye! --
Captain Kidd and Henry Morgan
Nothing, aye. So true. -- Henry Morgan
Rainstorm this'n Old Salt done sent ye fishin'. Yo ho ho. -- Blackbeard
Shiver me timbers, Zenza! Ye done be shark bait! Cleaved ta da brisket! Aye. -- Anne
Bonny
Fifteen men on a dead man's chest. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. -- Old Pegleg
All, on behalf of my Famous Pirates, I apologize for the death and killings, now twice
in two turns. It was neither intentional nor desirable. We truly want you to thrive,
have fun, learn well, and do well on Noblish Isle. Hopefully the replacement rollups
are better and provide fun and practice in warrior design. Death and replacement are
viable parts of the game. Use them to your best advantage. -- The Consortium
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
ORTHAR was butchered by BANDIT PRINCE in a 1 minute bloody Dark Arena fight.
FRENAR won victory over ANNE BONNY in a exciting 3 minute beginner's Bloodfeud battle.
KAR'RYN overpowered NOT ENOUGH in a 2 minute mismatched Challenge duel.
POKEY was bested by CANDY CANE in a 1 minute brutal novice's Challenge fight.
FRANCIS DRAKE was butchered by KIRENN in a 1 minute gory uneven Challenge brawl.
CAPTAIN KIDD viciously subdued TONARION in a 2 minute amateur's Challenge match.
HENRY MORGAN was defeated by HASAMI in a 2 minute beginner's Challenge melee.
THUNDER WONDER lost to CONVICTED ASSASSIN in a 3 minute Title duel.
VIOLET vanquished RAN OUT in a 1 minute one-sided fight.
JOPAR overpowered ALEXANDERKIN in a 1 minute one-sided melee.
ELYTRA defeated ONNA NO KO in a 2 minute novice's match.
DAKUROZU devastated NOTHING in a 1 minute brutal mismatched conflict.
BONGO was demolished by BLACKBEARD in a 1 minute bloody one-sided brawl.
RAIN STORM slimly won victory over CLOUDSPICE in a tiring 23 minute beginner's fight.
JINGLE BELL was viciously subdued by FENRIS WULFE in a 2 minute bloody novice's fray.
FILL THE SHAKER was bested by BEOWULFISH in a 2 minute novice's brawl.
GOING WITHOUT overpowered FLUYE in a 1 minute one-sided match.
LADYHAWKEYE overpowered CONVICTED THIEF in a 1 minute one-sided match.
SIR TALON overcame MORDANT DESERTER in a 2 minute amateur's competition.
HABBUBLER overpowered CONVICTED THIEF in a 1 minute uneven fight.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK 7 LUNGING ATTACK 24 - 8 - 1 75 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 7 TOTAL PARRY 19 - 10 - 0 66 |
|AIMED BLOW 6 PARRY-STRIKE 9 - 6 - 0 60 |
|TOTAL PARRY 4 STRIKING ATTACK 23 - 18 - 1 56 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 3 SLASHING ATTACK 14 - 15 - 1 48 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 3 AIMED BLOW 17 - 22 - 2 44 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 2 BASHING ATTACK 23 - 34 - 3 40 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 2 PARRY-RIPOSTE 7 - 14 - 0 33 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 1 PARRY-LUNGE 3 - 7 - 0 30 |
|WALL OF STEEL 0 WALL OF STEEL 0 - 0 - 0 0 |
Turn 474 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:
LUNGING ATTACK 2 - 0 STRIKING ATTACK 2 - 5 3 AIMED BLOW
AIMED BLOW 5 - 1 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 1 2 STRIKING ATTACK
PARRY-RIPOSTE 2 - 1 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 3 2 BASHING ATTACK
BASHING ATTACK 4 - 3 WALL OF STEEL 0 - 0 1 LUNGING ATTACK
SLASHING ATTACK 1 - 1 1 TOTAL PARRY
TOTAL PARRY 2 - 2 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE
1 SLASHING ATTACK
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
STRIKING ATTACK THUNDER WONDER 10029 3 1 0 56 DARK CLOUDS (1719)
LUNGING ATTACK VIOLET 10004 6 0 0 50 GREYSKULL (1710)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is HASAMI 10016. The most popular warrior this turn
was ANNE BONNY 10030. The ten other most popular fighters were THUNDER WONDER 10029,
CAPTAIN KIDD 10034, FENRIS WULFE 10054, KAR'RYN 9974, CANDY CANE 10019, HASAMI 10016,
ELYTRA 10025, DAKUROZU 10026, BLACKBEARD 10031, and BEOWULFISH 10043.
The least popular fighter this week was CLOUDSPICE 10018. The other ten least
popular fighters were RAIN STORM 10028, FLUYE 10053, BONGO 10027, NOTHING 10039,
ALEXANDERKIN 10045, RAN OUT 10035, TONARION 10024, FRANCIS DRAKE 10033, POKEY 10040,
and HABBUBLER 10047.
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)