DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 04/14/2017 Duedate: 04/27/2017
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-476
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
THUNDER WONDER
DARK CLOUDS (1719)
(93-10029) [5-1-0,79]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
VIOLET THUNDER WONDER
GREYSKULL (1710) DARK CLOUDS (1719)
(93-10004) [8-0-0,59] (93-10029) [5-1-0,79]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
HASAMI JINGLE BELL
DRIFTY DREAMS (1717) DRIFTY DREAMS (1717)
(93-10016) [2-4-0,10] (93-10015) [5-1-0,38]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
GREYSKULL (1710)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. ODD SQUAD (1712) 33
2. BASH BROS PEPPER (1721) 32 GREYSKULL (1710)
3. DRIFTY DREAMS (1717) 28 Unchartered Team
4. LEGIONS OF FATE (1724) 27
5. DARK CLOUDS (1719) 24 DARK CLOUDS (1719)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 1*DARK CLOUDS (1719) 18 11 0 62.1 1/ 3 GREYSKULL (1710) 11 4 0
2/ 2*FAMOUS PIRATES (1720) 15 10 2 60.0 2/ 1*DARK CLOUDS (1719) 10 4 0
3- 4*LIZARD DEN (1723) 3 2 0 60.0 3/ 2*FAMOUS PIRATES (1720) 8 7 0
4/ 5*LINKS OF TERROR (1718) 15 14 1 51.7 4/ 5*MISFIT KINGS (1722) 7 8 0
5/ 6 GREYSKULL (1710) 22 22 0 50.0 5/ 6*LINKS OF TERROR (1718) 6 8 1
6/ 3*MISFIT KINGS (1722) 7 8 0 46.7 6/ 4*DRIFTY DREAMS (1717) 5 9 0
7/ 7*DRIFTY DREAMS (1717) 12 17 0 41.4 7/ 7*BASH BROS PEPPER (1721) 4 11 0
8/ 8*BASH BROS PEPPER (1721) 10 15 0 40.0 8- 8*LIZARD DEN (1723) 3 2 0
9/ 0*LEGIONS OF FATE (1724) 2 3 0 40.0 9/ 0*ODD SQUAD (1712) 3 2 0
10/ 0*ODD SQUAD (1712) 5 9 0 35.7 10/ 0*LEGIONS OF FATE (1724) 2 3 0
11- 9*HI NO UMI (1715) 1 3 0 25.0 11- 9*HI NO UMI (1715) 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
NOBLISH ISLE GRADUATION FINAL EXAM
25 True/False Questions
90% = Passing Grade
Special Assist = All answers Are FALSE
1. D2 is all work and no play.
2. You may bloodfeud only twice.
3. Female warriors are better than male or neutral warriors.
4. Scum warriors are not allowed.
5. Assur and The Consortium rep are allied.
6. One must challenge warriors by name only on the strategy sheet.
7. D2 is only for kids.
8. The WF (war flail aka whiffle) is probably the best weapon available.
9. A warrior must be deemed godling to enter into tournaments.
10. All warriors are born with the same amount of stats and skills.
11. One cannot use a weapon unsuited to the warrior's style.
12. A manager may have only one team in D2.
13. Parry riposte (rippers), parry lungers (plungers) and parry strikers (pikers) are
the easiest styles to run.
14. Endurance plays no factor in D2.
15. A warrior's hit points are only determined by CON.
16. There are seven skill and seven stat types.
17. When a warrior dies, your team is reduced by one.
18. One secret strategy works best for each style of warrior.
19. All Face-To-Face Tournaments are held at the office headquarters in Tempe, AZ.
20. The arena Duelmaster may challenge any other warrior in the arena.
21. A warrior must wear armor.
22. In general old-time managers in the game hate each other and never communicate.
23. There are no luck factors in the game.
24. The RSI Customer Service people are mean and uncaring people.
25. The designer of this test has patent rights.
NOTE: Certain of these questions are discussed thoroughly in Noblish Island
Newsletters. So tune in!
Brought to you by Old Pegleg (A hearty pirate and Consortium representative)
SPY REPORT
Like the magnificent Sun, rising upon the Dawn and exiling the Night for a Day,
I, Novgorodny Vir, return once again! DARK CLOUDS? Who? GREYSKULL is the top team
these days, buddies! MISFIT KINGS had cause to celebrate, after LADYHAWKEYE got 19
points by beating FRENAR. Win some, lose some. Speaking of which, JINGLE BELL was
winsome, after beating KAR'RYN and seeing her lose 7 points. THUNDER WONDER
successfully staved off a grab for the roses by CONVICTED ASSASSIN of NOBLISH ISLAND.
Does NOBLISH ISLAND have no one talented enough to dethrone her? Word has it one
team in NOBLISH ISLAND is using psychics to predict wins. They lead a charmed life!
So much to report, so little time! Perhaps the warriors of GREYSKULL should
take up some hobbies, as they are the most avoided team... The warriors of GREYSKULL
found their efforts at combat frustrated as FAMOUS PIRATES apparently had more
important things to do than fight. Is it charming personality? Conversational
abilities? Good oral hygiene? Whatever it is, KAR'RYN is the most challenged
warrior.
Ah, the duel! The roar of the oppenent, the smell of the crowd! Ask not for
whom the sword slashes; it slashes for thee.
Leave me now, you base fools! More important duties call me. Like a mixed
metaphor, and an overtaxed simile, I now bid NOBLISH ISLAND farewell-- Novgorodny Vir
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
THUNDER WONDER 10029 5 1 0 79 DARK CLOUDS (1719)
CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
VIOLET 10004 8 0 0 59 GREYSKULL (1710)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
JINGLE BELL 10015 5 1 0 38 DRIFTY DREAMS (1717)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
KIRENN 10020 4 1 1 32 LINKS OF TERROR (1718)
LADYHAWKEYE 10044 2 1 0 30 MISFIT KINGS (1722)
BLACKBEARD 10031 4 1 0 29 FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
ELYTRA 10025 5 1 0 28 DARK CLOUDS (1719)
CAPTAIN KIDD 10034 4 1 1 26 FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
KAR'RYN 9974 4 5 0 26 GREYSKULL (1710)
FENRIS WULFE 10054 3 0 0 24 GREYSKULL (1710)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
JOPAR 10023 4 2 0 23 LINKS OF TERROR (1718)
LONG JOHN SILVER 10063 2 0 0 22 FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
ANNE BONNY 10030 3 2 1 21 FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
RAIN STORM 10028 5 1 0 20 DARK CLOUDS (1719)
GOING WITHOUT 10037 4 1 0 20 BASH BROS PEPPER (1721)
NOTHING 10039 1 4 0 18 BASH BROS PEPPER (1721)
BUBBLES 10064 2 0 0 16 GREYSKULL (1710)
JINXEE 9988 3 1 0 15 ODD SQUAD (1712)
-KOMODOENSIS 10048 1 0 0 15 LIZARD DEN (1723)
FRENAR 10022 4 2 0 14 LINKS OF TERROR (1718)
FILL THE SHAKER 10036 2 3 0 14 BASH BROS PEPPER (1721)
DAKUROZU 10026 1 4 0 14 DARK CLOUDS (1719)
-MOLOCH 10052 1 0 0 14 LIZARD DEN (1723)
BEOWULFISH 10043 2 1 0 13 MISFIT KINGS (1722)
ONIHANA 10017 2 3 0 13 DRIFTY DREAMS (1717)
SYMGARA 10056 1 0 0 13 LEGIONS OF FATE (1724)
-AUTUMNBE 9643 3 2 0 12 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
SIR TALON 10046 2 1 0 11 MISFIT KINGS (1722)
LUTHIEN 10059 1 0 0 11 LEGIONS OF FATE (1724)
HASAMI 10016 2 4 0 10 DRIFTY DREAMS (1717)
BONGO 10027 2 4 0 10 DARK CLOUDS (1719)
TONARION 10024 2 4 0 10 LINKS OF TERROR (1718)
-OTOKO 10008 1 0 0 10 HI NO UMI (1715)
RAN OUT 10035 2 3 0 9 BASH BROS PEPPER (1721)
-CHAMAELEONTIDAE 10050 1 0 0 9 LIZARD DEN (1723)
OAK 10062 1 0 0 9 ODD SQUAD (1712)
CANDY CANE 10019 1 5 0 8 DRIFTY DREAMS (1717)
HENRY MORGAN 10032 1 4 0 7 FAMOUS PIRATES (1720)
NOT ENOUGH 10038 1 4 0 7 BASH BROS PEPPER (1721)
-DRAXXUS 9644 1 4 0 7 CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
MOURN 10065 1 0 0 6 GREYSKULL (1710)
ODDO 10060 1 0 0 5 ODD SQUAD (1712)
HABBUBLER 10047 1 2 0 5 MISFIT KINGS (1722)
-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)
BALTHAZAR 10057 0 1 0 1 LEGIONS OF FATE (1724)
-SANCHOO 10006 0 1 0 1 HI NO UMI (1715)
AZNA 10067 0 1 0 1 LINKS OF TERROR (1718)
-YOSHI 10007 0 1 0 1 HI NO UMI (1715)
-ONNA NO KO 10009 0 1 0 1 HI NO UMI (1715)
BLIEW IZE 10055 0 1 0 1 LEGIONS OF FATE (1724)
-DRACO AGAMIDAE 10051 0 1 0 1 LIZARD DEN (1723)
OLIVE 10061 0 1 0 1 ODD SQUAD (1712)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
DUNCAN 10058 0 1 0 1 LEGIONS OF FATE (1724)
SCOTCH MARY 10066 0 1 0 1 MISFIT KINGS (1722)
-BASILISCUS 10049 0 1 0 1 LIZARD DEN (1723)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
CLOUDSPICE 10018 2 4 0 DRIFTY DREAMS 1717 HIGH ELF 476 NONE
FRANCIS DRAKE 10033 1 2 0 FAMOUS PIRATES 1720 KIRENN 10020 474
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 NOT REVENGED
CRISPEN 9987 0 2 0 ODD SQUAD 1712 HIGH ELF 476 NONE
PERSONAL ADS
Sin Zoo of Misfit Kings, Old Pegleg thanks you for the compliments on the availability
of the C.I.C., but it is important to know that three entities created the info and
made it available to Noblish Isle newbies:
The Wizardettes of RSI
Assur The All-Knowledgeable
The Consortium Folk
Old Pegleg (The Consortium rep here) and Assur, both old-timers to DM/D2 are here in
Noblish to help/assist/mentor/answer questions/etc. Be sure to make use of Old Pegleg
and Assur. Make 'em sweat! -- The Consortium Elders
Catalyst of Greyskull, that was great advice you offered to all Noblish. The
Consortium Folk will be sad to see you leave The Isle, but are looking forward to
seeing you in an arena elsewhere. -- The Consortium Administrative Assistant
Gekkonidae, welcome and good luck. -- The Famous Pirates (interpreted by The
Consortium Administrative Assistant)
Violet, ye scurvy wench, ye done scuttled me Blackbeard. Ye stink o dead fish! Aye. --
Old Pegleg
Anne Bonnie, me fair lass, ye made yon Assur "go without". Luv ye lass! -- Old Pegleg
Yo ho ho 'n me bottle 'o rum; Long John Silver done splunked yon landlubber Hasami.
Aye. -- Old Pegleg
Habbubler? What kind 'o name be that'n? Scallywag? Ole Kidd done showed ye. -- Captain
Kidd
Bongo, phbbblllttt! -- Henry Morgan
Old Pegleg's Corner:
How does a buddy pirate tell his matey he'll watch out for him?
"I'll keep an eye out for ye."
What is a pirate's favorite sock?
Arrrrrgyle.
What is a buccaneer?
A pretty high price to pay for corn.
Health. Humility. Honor. -- The Consortium Motto
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
CLOUDSPICE was viciously butchered by HIGH ELF in a 2 minute Dark Arena fight.
CRISPEN was savagely slain by HIGH ELF in a exciting 1 minute gory Dark Arena melee.
ANNE BONNY lost to KIRENN in a crowd pleasing 1 minute Bloodfeud brawl.
ONIHANA defeated NOT ENOUGH in a 1 minute Challenge fight.
SIR TALON was subdued by CAPTAIN KIDD in a 1 minute amateur's Challenge competition.
LONG JOHN SILVER unbelievably bested BEOWULFISH in a 3 minute Challenge fight.
LADYHAWKEYE devastated FRENAR in a 4 minute one-sided Challenge competition.
HENRY MORGAN lost to BUBBLES in a popular 1 minute beginner's Challenge duel.
HABBUBLER was vanquished by ELYTRA in a popular 1 minute one-sided Challenge duel.
THUNDER WONDER handily defeated CONVICTED ASSASSIN in a 1 minute one-sided Title bout.
VIOLET subdued FRATSFA SLAVE in a crowd pleasing 1 minute competition.
BLACKBEARD bested DAKUROZU in a 2 minute battle.
JINGLE BELL subdued KAR'RYN in a popular 4 minute bloody brawl.
CANDY CANE was overcome by JOPAR in a action packed 1 minute fight.
TONARION was savagely defeated by FENRIS WULFE in a 2 minute gruesome struggle.
BONGO was handily defeated by NOTHING in a 1 minute bloody mismatched bout.
RAIN STORM unbelievably bested HASAMI in a exciting 4 minute brutal fight.
JINXEE overpowered DUNCAN in a 1 minute one-sided bout.
RAN OUT was luckily beaten by OAK in a 3 minute bloody amateur's conflict.
FILL THE SHAKER overpowered BLIEW IZE in a 1 minute uneven fight.
GOING WITHOUT demolished OLIVE in a 1 minute uneven bout.
BALTHAZAR was unbelievably bested by ODDO in a popular 2 minute brutal amateur's fray.
LUTHIEN overpowered SCOTCH MARY in a exciting 1 minute uneven fight.
SYMGARA overpowered CONVICTED THIEF in a 1 minute one-sided duel.
MOURN defeated AZNA in a 2 minute brutal beginner's match.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|AIMED BLOW 8 WALL OF STEEL 2 - 0 - 0 100 |
|BASHING ATTACK 8 LUNGING ATTACK 27 - 7 - 1 79 |
|TOTAL PARRY 7 TOTAL PARRY 21 - 15 - 0 58 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 7 STRIKING ATTACK 23 - 22 - 1 51 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 5 AIMED BLOW 21 - 22 - 1 49 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 4 BASHING ATTACK 27 - 34 - 1 44 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 3 PARRY-STRIKE 7 - 9 - 0 44 |
|WALL OF STEEL 2 SLASHING ATTACK 12 - 18 - 1 40 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 10 - 18 - 0 36 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 PARRY-LUNGE 2 - 5 - 0 29 |
Turn 476 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 4 - 0 STRIKING ATTACK 3 - 4 4 AIMED BLOW
WALL OF STEEL 2 - 0 BASHING ATTACK 3 - 5 2 STRIKING ATTACK
AIMED BLOW 6 - 2 PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 - 4 2 LUNGING ATTACK
TOTAL PARRY 4 - 3 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 2 BASHING ATTACK
PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 1 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE
SLASHING ATTACK 0 - 3
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
STRIKING ATTACK THUNDER WONDER 10029 5 1 0 79 DARK CLOUDS (1719)
LUNGING ATTACK VIOLET 10004 8 0 0 59 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 JINGLE BELL 10015. The ten other most popular fighters were HASAMI 10016,
LADYHAWKEYE 10044, BALTHAZAR 10057, FENRIS WULFE 10054, BEOWULFISH 10043, ELYTRA
10025, VIOLET 10004, BLACKBEARD 10031, RAN OUT 10035, and LUTHIEN 10059.
The least popular fighter this week was FRENAR 10022. The other ten least popular
fighters were SCOTCH MARY 10066, OLIVE 10061, DUNCAN 10058, BONGO 10027, TONARION
10024, HABBUBLER 10047, LONG JOHN SILVER 10063, SIR TALON 10046, CRISPEN 9987, and
CLOUDSPICE 10018.
BLOODGAMES AND MORE BLOODGAMES!
The Mail-in Bloodgames that were set to run at Face-to-Face 58 in January did not
process because we had trouble with the warrior data for that arena. Unfortunately,
the warrior data was irretrievably lost. We have credited everyone for those teams.
So here's what we're going to do:
We will hold a replacement Mail-in Bloodgames (DM 97) on June 17. To participate,
submit your team (10 warriors, design-your-own, one of each style). When we receive
your team "rollup", we will send you back warrior overviews. Your strategies for the
Replacement Mail-in Bloodgames (DM 97) are due June 17. We will process all ten
rounds, one after another, and mail all results later that week. The costs and
Bloodgames rules will remain the same.
In addition to this, we will also hold another Bloodgames (DM 95), but this one will
process as a slow arena. Design your teams in the same way: 10 warriors, design-
your-own, one warrior of each fighting style. Managers may submit turn input each
round for their warriors, similar to the Face-to-Face style Bloodgames (no challenges,
only Bloodfeuds). Your strategies for the first round of the Arena Bloodgames (DM 95)
are due on June 24. This arena will run ten rounds, once every four weeks.
The Summer Face-to-Face is coming up and we will hold the regularly scheduled Face-to-
Face style and Mail-in style Bloodgames there, as well. We hope everyone will enjoy
one or more of these Bloodgames arenas!
-- RSI
A SACRED LORD'S SLASHER
Well, this article/spotlight is for Seal at 7th Order, so here goes.
ST: If he's huge (15+), 3 is okay, and use HA. I prefer 7 for epee. 9 gets scimitar
and 11 gets broadsword. Anything above 11 is a WASTE!!!
CN: Whatever they send you.
SZ: Any.
WT: 15, 17, or 21. 13 is workable, but I hate slow learners! 21 will probably take
a lot from other areas, so 17 is best.
WL: 17, 17, 17!!!! You need endurance, lots of endurance. Some of my friends use
15, but I prefer not to.
SP: 9+ They use SP as well as most, but don't add here until after WT/WL/DF.
DF: 15+, 15+, 15+. Once again, I have high standards. The reason? Have you ever
had a slasher come out w/ "relying on his speed to stay out of trouble"? That's
'cause his parry is in the negative. With a 15 DF your slasher will have a much
better parry and will probably be about 1-3 trains from a Master parry in advanced.
Later on, you'll see!
Now, how to run them:
10 9 7 -------------------------> 10
10 4 2 -------------------------> 10
7 9 7 -------------------------> 1
CH/HE -------------------------------------------- >
HE ----------------------------------------------- >
Off: D at first, open later, min 2 +, open
Def: D/S (preferably Dodge)
Min two+ is in case of a TP or WoS coming after you. This setup works, so good
luck!
Mike Bookout
Bookie, Sacred Lord of the Black Regime
Memphis Mafia (36,100)
P.S. Anybody want to join the Regime?
The Dark Arena: A Fighter's Perspective
(sung to the hymn: Battle Hymn of the Republic)
Mine eyes have seen the glory
Of the coming of the dawn
I am walking down the tunnel
After everyone is gone
I step into the torchlight
And I see the blade he's drawn
My mind, it sings this song:
CHORUS
Worry, worry, I've come for ya
Worry, worry, I've come for ya
Worry, worry, I've come for ya
My mind continues on
The crowd is chanting praises
But all I hear are growls
Mine enemy's upon me
So I strike him and he howls
Parry, parry, slash, and parry
I smell his breath so foul
And death, he sings this song:
(CHORUS)
Now we both are tired
And my strength is fading fast
Oh, let me give that fatal blow
Oh, let me be the last
I swing my sword with all my might
The crowd it stands, aghast
As he dies, I sing my song:
(CHORUS x2)
Scotlan (28, 31, 39, 50, ?)
Kill Desire: "Patience."
Many times I have lost warriors, and the manager claimed the KD was only five.
As if KD had anything to do with the death of my fighter. It was really the battle
axe to the head that killed him.
I was quite disturbed at the widespread belief that kill desire has something to
do with killing an opponent. But they have good reason to believe this: the
Duelmasters Handbook definition of kill desire has a tendency to cast a "confusion
spell" on the reader to make them think that way. The wording is very misleading.
The name "kill desire" is also misleading. A more correct word would be "patience."
Yes, kill desire is actually how much patience your fighter had before taking a
shot. KD doesn't add damage or tell your fighter where to aim at.
Damage is calculated by weapon and strength. (Of course, favorite weapon also
affects damage.)
You let your warrior know where you want him to aim at by filling out the attack
location boxes on the fight sheets.
Hit location and damage are the main two things that will kill warriors. Hit
locations to vital areas such as head, chest, and the abdomen repeated times increases
your chance to kill. The amount of damage inflicted to these vital areas also
increases your chance to kill an opponent.
As you see, none of this has anything to do with kill desire.
Now, I will tell you what kill desire, or patience, as I call it, actually is.
If you run your warrior with an 8-10 KD, you're telling him to swing like a
drunken wildman. You'll see statements in his fights that say "swings wildly" or
other things to that effect. He is not waiting for a good opening. He is swinging at
everything! This is bad for several reasons.
With his KD that high, he is very easily dodged and parried. Also, he can be
feinted into bad dueling decisions as well.
I think that KD between 5-7 for offensive styles and 3-6 for defensive styles is
perfect.
You get a lot more hits with a 5-7 KD, and feint a lot less. But you also get
more kills in this range. Reason being, you're waiting for a good shot that is hard
to dodge or parry. The example I used earlier about the manager with the 5 KD and
battleaxe is the point I am trying to make. If his warrior's KD was 10, my warrior
could have dodged or parried the attack and still be alive today. But since it was a
5 KD, he waited for a good shot that my warrior had trouble defending against, and
cleaved his head off! (Well, not literally.)
Defensive styles run about 3-6 KD. Defensive styles swing wildly a lot in the
beginning, but that is natural. They will get better. 3-4 KD, they still have a
tendency to let attacks go by. Of course, if you're scumming, go with a 1 KD.
In short, having an 8-10 KD means your warrior is doing all that swinging and
hitting less. Not to mention all the endurance he is burning up to no avail.
Any comments, you can diplo me.
ta-ta,
Sir Jessie Jest
DM 11: Lords of the Abyss
DM 61: Pit Fiends
DM 67: Storm Wizards
DM 5: Bad Girls
SOME INFO ON THE RIPPER
Being that the parry-riposte is my favorite style, I thought I'd share a few
things I've learned.
General design:
ST: 7-11 Strength isn't all important to the P.R. An 11 will gives you all well
suited weapons. I'll even go as high as 17, but with no dramatic
effect.
CN: Any A higher con will give a better endurance and make survival easier.
SZ: Any Although a smaller size gives you a defensive bonus.
WT: 15-21 As with all other styles the higher the better. 15 will give the epee.
A P.R. needs to learn skills to survive.
WL: 13-21 Will is as important as wit. It helps endurance and life expectancy.
A higher will allows you to pick apart most scum.
SP: 5-13 13 is a major breakpoint but it's not necessary to go that high. A
combo of 15 wit, 15 deftness and 11 speed will give you an expert in
riposte with any luck.
DF: 13-21 The higher the coordination the easier it is to hit your attack
location. A 15 will give you the epee.
The perfect P.R. would look something like this: 9-4-5-17-21-11-17 with starting
skill bases like:
Ini: 60%
Rip: 90%
Att: 75%
Par: 70%
Def: 75%
Dec: 40%
One of my first PRs looked like this: 15-10-9-15-15-6-14, Thror the Dark. He was
extremely unlucky as far as starting skills. He now looks a little different: 17-11-
9-17-16-7-15 with 90% Init, 145% Rip, 130% Att, 130% Par, 115% Def and 80% Dec. I
destroyed him with early stat raises.
I had a similar design that was luckier, at least until he got X-ed by a slasher
in a tourney. He died with a 12-3-1 record. But enough of that. You're probably
wanting to get on with the strategies.
So getting on with it, I've tried both offensive and defensive strategies.
Generally defensive has worked better for me. Something like: 3-6-6 going offensive
in minute 3 or 4 with a 10-8-6 or a 9-7-6 and then backing off to a 6-4-6 or a 4-5-6.
As far as tactics go I don't use 'em very often. If you use any offensive tactic
use the lunge or nothing. Defensively use dodge and parry sparingly, if at all, and
don't use the riposte tactic after you've achieved a master.
Okay, now on to weapons and armor. A parry-riposte is somewhat limited when it
comes to weapons. The longsword is their best choice against heavier armors. I once
tried the halberd (I'll wait until you finish laughing.) Anyway, Thror the Dark
savagely slew Spymaster with it. I only give the PR an off hand weapon with epee,
shortsword or the longsword.
I've done varying things with armor, but I've found that lighter armor works
better, personal favorites being APL, ARM, and ASM. I read an article about the
parry-riposte of coom that made me laugh. It said something about wearing more armor
than expected of a PR, listing nothing higher than ACM+F. Imagine what he would have
thought fighting Thror the Dark in APA+F.
This is just an opinion brought to you by Necrom, manager of Knightmares (33),
Pentad Paladins (55), Northlanders (70) and a couple of others.
BLOODGAMES at the SUMMER FACE-TO-FACE
Back by popular demand, we will be having Bloodgames at the Summer FTF! For those of
you who always wanted the chance to manage the last warrior standing alive upon the
arena sands, your day has come. At the end of the ten turns, even though several
warriors, bruised and scarred, MAY yet live, only one will be crowned Champion of the
Bloodgames. And in this game mere survival counts for little. A great general once
said, "The object of battle is not to die for your cause, but to make your enemy die
for his." This general would have greatly enjoyed the Duelmasters Bloodgames. There
will be two different arenas:
FTF-Style (DM 98): for Face-to-Face attendees, with turn-by-turn strategies
Mail-in-Style (DM 99): for all managers, with one strategy for all ten rounds
Gameplay proceeds according to standard DM rules, except for a few notable exceptions:
BLOODGAMES ROLLUP -- Your Bloodgames team is ten warriors, one of each fighting
style, each warrior designed from scratch! (All are 84 points, 3-21, as usual.)
DEATH -- As the name implies, the Bloodgames will leave the arena sands somewhat
darker before they're over. It's a dangerous sport intended only for the tough and
spirited. The Arenamaster will be less likely to intercede on behalf of a dying
warrior. Even at a 1 kill desire, kill attempts will occur.
REPLACEMENTS AND ROLLUPS -- There will be no replacement characters.
CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES -- In the FTF-style bloodgames, there are no regular
challenges, only bloodfeuds. For the Mail-in arena, warriors may not change their
strategy from round to round (to make it fair for those who could not attend the
FTF). There will be no DA challenges in either arena.
TURN PROCESSING AND DUE DATES -- If you are not attending the FTF, we must have your
rollups and strategies by the Wednesday before the FTF, else they are due by 9pm on
Friday, at the hotel. The Bloodgames will process at the FTF with the regular
tournament.
MISSED TURNS -- All warriors fight each round. Only the dead may rest.
ERRORS -- If we make an input error, that warrior will be awarded a win and kill.
Errors must be reported before the next turn processes.
NEWSLETTER -- Warriors are ranked according to their number of kills. Champions of
Bloodgames may write a column for the newsletter at the end of the games.
FEES -- A Bloodgames rollup costs a $10 set-up fee. Managers may roll up more than
one team but may run only one team in each arena. The fee for all ten rounds is $49.
AWARDS -- The Bloodgames last ten rounds. Only warriors who survive to the end of
Turn 10 will be eligible for an award. However, a consolation award of a Bloodgames
T-shirt will be awarded to the dead warrior with the most kills.
The living warrior with the greatest number of kills will be the Bloodgames Champion.
Bloodgames Victor titles, 2nd and 3rd place, and Bloodgames Runner-up titles, 4th
through 6th place, will be awarded to those living warriors with the greatest number
of kills at the end of Turn 10, with one other important consideration: Each of these
six warriors must be of a different fighting style. Win/loss records and, if
necessary, recognition points will only be used to determine awards if there is a tie.
A Bloodgames T-shirts will be awarded to the manager of the team with the most kills.
The Bloodgames Champion fights for free in Advanced Duelmasters, and all Champions and
Victors earn Tournament Victor status, which allows them to challenge once per turn
with increased priority. These awards last for six months. The manager of the
Bloodgames Champion, Victors, and Runners-up will receive Bloodgames T-shirts.
AFTERMATH -- Warriors from the Bloodgames may not transfer to any other arena. Once
the games are over, the arena and teams will be disbanded. The fighters have won
their freedom and will never more be seen in the gladiatorial games. A special bonus
will, however, be awarded to the 1st through 3rd place warriors. Lady Sheila
Greywand, of the Isle of the Eye, has consented to allow the top three gladiators in
each Bloodgames admission to the Advanced Duelmasters games. Any special training
required to qualify those three warriors for Advanced Duelmasters combat will be
conducted before transfer into ADM. Astute managers will note that this means that
three warriors that are designed from scratch will survive the Bloodgames, win one of
the top three places, and go on to immortal glory! One of those warriors could be
yours!
The challenge is yours to take. The final plans are yours to make.
When the dust settles, remember: To the victor goes the spoils!
Crimson Strikers
Greetings, fellow managers, I, Crimson Strategist, shall share my thoughts with
you on the striking attack style.
This style developed in cultures where weapon quality surpassed that of the
armors, this made landing the first blow vital. This blow is usually delivered in a
downward fashion quickly, surely, and with power in a minimal of wasted motion.
Here's how I rate the stats:
ST 11-15: Never go below 11, strikers are well suited to ALL the weapons in the
game and 11 allows the use of the majority of them. They also need to hurt their foe
when they hit, thus making this an important consideration for damage rating.
CN 3-9: This whole style revolves around finishing your foe quickly, if your foe
has time to develop a complex formal attack on your striker, then you're not fighting
him properly. A properly run striker should never be hit more than four or five
times, any more than this and the whole concept behind this style gets thrown right
out the window, therefore I rate con as the least important attribute for this style.
SZ 9-16: A size of 9 allows use of all the weapons and it is important in
determining your damage rating, plus, it also adds to your init and this style thrives
on init.
WT 13+: As with any style, the higher the better. 13 is rock bottom, it allows
the use of all weapons except the epee and you'll still learn at a decent pace.
WL 7-13: This style conserves endurance which allows this attribute to go
considerably less than most styles and still fight effectively for a respectable
length of time. I've had strikers with a 13 ST, 3 CN, and 5 WL get poor endurance
ratings and ones with 11 ST, 6 CN, and 9 WL get normal. However, if you want some
long term potential, you'd want to be around 13 or so.
SP 10+: This is very important for decise and init skills which are the heart of
this style. Landing the first blow and finishing the fight quickly is hinged on your
striker's speed.
DF 15+: This is crucial attribute for this style, they NEED to be precise with
their blows, plus, it also adds to their init. Get to 17 or 21 if possible.
Now let's take a look at the style itself. The striking attack is one of the
easiest styles to run, yet they have adversity that many styles lack. As I've said
before, a striker can use ALL the weapons in the game. They can fight effectively
wearing plate armor and no armor, they can use EVERY tactic in the game be it
offensive or defensive, a striker can fight like a lunger or basher, ripper or
slasher, etc... provided that you match up their strategy with the appropriate tactic
and weapon. They can beat ALL the styles in DM and beyond if you choose their
strategy correctly for that particular style vs. style matchup.
Here are some examples of style vs. style matchups for strikers and various
tactic selections vs. the different styles.
High decise strikers over slashers and lungers, strikers over total parry and
wall of steel, rippers over strikers, etc...
Using the decise tactic vs. lungers, slashers, and aimed blows. Using the lunge
tactic vs. rippers and aimed blows, using no tactic and having a moderate offensive
effort and moderate activity level vs. total parries and wall of steel, etc...
The possible variations for this style are virtually endless.
Now let's take a brief look at your striker overview and glean some helpful hints
on how to fight them. If you see statements like "relying on speed to stay out of
danger" or "avoiding rather than trading blows," this is telling you that your AL
should be moderate to high. If he does great damage, then don't use weapons like the
epee or shortsword, this would be an underutilization of his strengths. If he learns
attack skills easily, then this is telling you that he likes to take his time and pick
his shots so don't send him out with a 10 OE! If you see statements like "has learned
how to be a decisive and quick fighter," then by all means USE the decise tactic with
a high OE. Don't send him out with offhand weapons unless he's ambidextrous, if you
do, it will take away from his attack. As you can see, the various statements on your
overview are very helpful in telling you how your striker likes to fight.
Here's a very general strategy that has worked well for my strikers.
OE 10 8 7 7 7 6 6 Armor: ARM to ACM
AL 4 3 2 1 1 1 8 Weapons: BS,LO,SC,GS,BA
KD 6 6 6 6 6 6 5
ATT LOC Head, body, arms
PRO LOC Head or body
OFF TCT Decise or bash
DEF TCT Response or dodge
Before I close there is one last point I wish to emphasize, USE the
challenge/avoid system, it will help control who you fight and when. In closing, I
would like to thank the following managers for their diplos and articles which helped
me learn the game: Sir Jessie Jest, Talon, Tex, the managers on the roundtable, and
numerous others who took their time to put quill and ink on parchment and pass their
knowledge on to others, thanks!
Many of you know the Crimson Death stables or soon will know them since I plan to
have quite a few of them up and running, however, some of them will be on and off due
to monetary fluctuations so if you wish to diplo me with any comments, criticisms,
whatever, send them to my home arena, which, from here on out, will always be active.
Later,
Crimson Strategist
Crimson Death DM 61