DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER

Date   : 06/08/2018    Duedate: 06/21/2018

NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA

DM-93    TURN-506

This Weeks Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

PHANTOM INJURY
BASH BROS DL (1744)
(93-10199) [4-1-0,56]

Chartered Recognition Leader   Unchartered Recognition Leader

POSITION IS EMPTY              PHANTOM INJURY
                               BASH BROS DL (1744)
                               (93-10199) [4-1-0,56]

Popularity Leader              This Weeks Favorite

PHANTOM INJURY                 ROOK
BASH BROS DL (1744)            CARD SHARKS! (1743)
(93-10199) [4-1-0,56]          (93-10188) [3-2-0,17]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

CARD SHARKS! (1743)

          TEAMS ON THE MOVE            TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name                  Point Gain  Chartered Team
1. CARD SHARKS! (1743)         66
2. CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)        0      IRON DRAGON (495)
3. BASH BROS DL (1744)         -9      Unchartered Team

                                       BASH BROS DL (1744)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record           W   L  K    %  Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns    W  L K
 1/ 1*BASH BROS DL (1744)       14  11  1 56.0   1/ 3*CARD SHARKS! (1743)       9  6 1
 2- 2*CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)     22  18  4 55.0   2/ 1*BASH BROS DL (1744)       7  8 1
 3/ 3*CARD SHARKS! (1743)       13  12  2 52.0   3- 2*CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)     3  2 1

    '*'   Unchartered team                       '-'  Team did not fight this turn
   (###)  Avoid teams by their Team Id          ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank

                                    TEAM SPOTLIGHT

                         WHAT THEY WON'T TEACH YOU IN SCHOOLS
                   SO COME TO NOBLISH ISLE TO REALLY, REALLY LEARN

     Any warrior that loses a fight can die. Dead. Gone. One can die by being 
mercilessly killed by the opponent, and, sadly, every loser has a small chance 
(estimated odds 1 in 50) of dying in the infirmary. Note: There is NO chance of dying 
if one wins! So WIN!
     Any warrior can use any weapon. Not a problem However, there are undefined 
penalties for using marginal, unsuited, inadequate wit, inadequate size, inadequate 
strength, and inadequate deftness weapons. One can certainly win with an improperly 
suited weapon, but, is it worth the chance? Usually not, I say. (I said usually!)
     Warriors are born with certain skills which are dependent on the base 70 point 
stat sheet and the style selected. The 14 points of added stats also add skills to 
those base skills. You really need to know which skills come from what stat. (So check 
out that C.I.C.) RSI seldom makes input errors. I said seldom. The best thing a 
manager can do to help avoid input errors is to fill out the strategy sheet accurately 
and legibly with good penmanship. Yes, we have doctors in the warrior management ranks 
(Slugbait and Grimm come to mind) and they probably regret their yucky penmanship.
     These are considered the three best ways to acquire info, knowledge and "secrets" 
about D2:

     * Terrablood.com
     * Noblish Island (DM93) newsletters
     * Reality.com

     There is more to strategy than filling out the warrior's initial armor and weapon 
selection and offensive effort and activity level and kill desire and tactic 
selection. Challenges and avoids are an important way to attempt to give your warrior 
an advantage. Challenge warriors (warrior ID) that your warrior is likely to defeat 
and learn a lot from, and avoid teams (team ID) with warriors whom are likely to 
defeat you. (Remember, if you lose, you could die!) Indeed, your warrior can be 
provided with an alternate strategy for challenging or when being challenged or both. 
A warrior does not have to ever challenge, bloodfeud, or avoid, but it is almost 
certainly in his best interest to do so.
     Ask dumb questions! Often managers, especially new managers, have a doubt or a 
question, but they feel "asking for help/advice" is a sign of weakness or lack of 
intelligence or knowledge about D2. Do not let this be you! Ask! We dumb veteran 
managers ask each other dumb questions all the time. One man's dumb is another man's 
smart. (You heard it here first!)
     What are the best ways to ask?

     * On the Reality.com site
     * On the D2 Chatzy blog site
     * In personal ads in the arenas (especially Noblish Island)
     * By diplo to another manager in D2 (Certain managers will almost always respond; 
       some may not)

     No matter what any veteran, friend or expert tells you about design or strategy 
or concept, it is not necessarily the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 
truth. It may be good or great or common advice, but it is not necessarily the only 
good (or bad) advice. Some advice is best learned first-hand.
     D2 is a normally a friendly atmosphere. While managers are very competitive, most 
of the vets know each other, see each other at FTF Tournaments, chat with each other 
on line, and even help each other out with advice and ideas. The fount of knowledge 
available now, about D2, was acquired by a collective "working together" and sharing 
info. Be advised that an overly mean, overbearing, threatening, haughty, unfriendly 
character/manager is likely to be colluded against and ostracized by D2 regulars. 
Smack talk is desirable and a part of the game. Personal threats, harsh meanness, or 
overbearingness is not at all welcomed. You are forewarned!
     Noblish Island is a great learning atmosphere. What comes after Noblish? Choose 
wisely an arena (or two!) in which to participate.

     * Fast (two week turnaround) or slow (four weeks)
     * Large (15+ teams participating), medium (8-14ish), small (7 or less)
     * Friendly (usually Andorian arenas are up for role-playing and up for helping 
       newbies, and down on down-challenging or taking advantage of newbies), or 
       Cutthroat (Darkholm arenas tend to be win-at-all-cost).

You can participate in as many arenas as you want. You can also participate in 
separate tournaments, held quarterly, which allow warriors from all arenas to compete 
with each other for acclaim and prizes.
     There are many other things they apparently didn't teach you, you say?  Well, 
send a personal ad or diplo to Assur or The Consortium rep in DM93 Noblish Isle and 
give them a shot at answering in the newsletter.

                                          -- Dealer (Consortium affiliated)

                                      SPY REPORT

     If you were disturbed from your beauty rest only to have to watch a bunch of 
NOBLISH ISLAND brutes like you, you'd be grouchy, too.  Later days, BASH BROS DL, 
since CARD SHARKS! took top team from you this turn, you guys are old news.  Of 
course, we're all terribly impressed to see DUECE win a fight and gain 23 points, 
terribly.  Tsk, tsk, CRAZY 8'S beat FAVORITE PLAYER and FAVORITE PLAYER lost 7 
points.  You're breakin' my heart.  Our Duelmaster has lost, folks, lost to VENEMOUS 
CONCUBINE, BUT PHANTOM INJURY is still the Duelmaster because he has the most 
recognition points!  Kickbacks and bribes, kickbacks and bribes, how else do you 
think some of these guys win their fights?  Skill?  Ha!   
     My mother always told me, 'If you don't have anything nice to say, start 
talking.' I loved that woman.  NOBLISH ISLAND, I am losing what little hope I had in 
you.  BASH BROS DL the most avoided team?  What insult will suffice, I cannot say.  
And it looks like CARD SHARKS! avoided them the most this turn.  What a pack of would 
be losers, if you ask me.  Hmph.  FAVORITE PLAYER was challenged more times this turn 
than the Duelmaster.  Now was the DM insulted or feared?  Heh, heh.   
     Death and Taxes.  The less death I see, the more it taxes my patience.  Let's 
see if anyone's dead or dying.  Nipped in the bud, you might say, was FULL ROSTER of 
BASH BROS DL this turn.  Course, I wouldn't say that, so much as have a belly laugh.  
Heh heh.  Titanium shields and bamboo daggers, guess what brave team is developing 
these kinds of weapons?   
     There's got to be a better place in NOBLISH ISLAND to get a drink than The 
Dripping Blade!  Any suggestions?  Well, I've had enough of this drivel, and I'm sure 
you have too.  Off like a dirty shirt of padded leather.  I see the crowds are 
getting restless, I must leave now-- Snide Clemens  

DUELMASTER                     W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 PHANTOM INJURY 10199          4   1  0    56       BASH BROS DL (1744)

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-RIVERSIDE SHAKEPERE 10142     5   3  0    52       CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)
 TRUMP 10190                   3   2  0    52       CARD SHARKS! (1743)
-SOCCER-PANTS 10140            5   3  2    41       CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)
 POKER 10187                   3   2  0    38       CARD SHARKS! (1743)

CHALLENGER INITIATES           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-IGGIE THE SCUM 10141          4   4  1    33       CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)
 DUECE 10191                   2   3  1    29       CARD SHARKS! (1743)

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-AQUA-KNOT 10144               6   2  0    21       CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)
 ROOK 10188                    3   2  0    17       CARD SHARKS! (1743)
 CRAZY 8'S 10189               2   3  1    16       CARD SHARKS! (1743)
-HASSAN 10143                  2   6  1    15       CLOAK WARRIORS (1737)
 CRUSHED HOPE 10196            3   2  1    13       BASH BROS DL (1744)
-AUTUMNBE 9643                 3   2  0    12       CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
 FAVORITE PLAYER 10197         3   2  0    11       BASH BROS DL (1744)
-DRAXXUS 9644                  1   4  0     7       CAVEAT EMPTOR (1657)
-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)
 RECOVERY TIME 10206           0   1  0     1       BASH BROS DL (1744)

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

THE DEAD                W  L K TEAM NAME            SLAIN BY              TURN Revenge?
CONVICTED THIEF         0  0 0                      CRUSHED HOPE 10196    506  NONE
FULL ROSTER 10198       3  2 0 BASH BROS DL 1744    DUECE 10191           506   
TOOL 10200              1  3 0 BASH BROS DL 1744    HASSAN 10143          505   

                                     PERSONAL ADS

Ah, no problem, lady assur. I always think of you in the lower case too. -- Dealer

Hey, assur, nice plunger article. -- Dealer (Really thinking, thanks,Tripwire.)

lady assur, I am pleased to see you are finally doing well here in Noblish. It always 
takes you newbies a while to catch on. Kudos. -- Dealer

Crushed Hope, I know; I know. You were trying to draw to an inside straight. -- Poker 
(Really thinking, assur must have taught him)

Full Roster and Favorite Player, phbttttttt. You bumpkins! -- Crazy 8's and Duece.

Cards, cards! Why can't I get some decent cards? -- Dealer

Caveat Emptor and Cloak Warriors, how are you guys doing? -- Dealer

                                  LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

PHANTOM INJURY was bested by VENEMOUS CONCUBINE in a 1 minute Title fight.
POKER subdued CAPTURED ORC in a 1 minute novice's melee.
TRUMP overpowered DANGEROUS CRIMINAL in a 1 minute bloody mismatched duel.
ROOK defeated RECOVERY TIME in a 1 minute novice's fight.
CRAZY 8'S bested FAVORITE PLAYER in a slow 5 minute beginner's brawl.
DUECE butchered FULL ROSTER in a 1 minute mismatched match.
CRUSHED HOPE put to death CONVICTED THIEF in a 2 minute beginner's fight.

                                    BATTLE REPORT

             MOST POPULAR                        RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS     
|FIGHTING STYLE               FIGHTS        FIGHTING STYLE     W -   L -  K   PERCENT|
|STRIKING ATTACK                  3         AIMED BLOW        18 -   9 -  1      67  |
|BASHING ATTACK                   3         WALL OF STEEL      6 -   4 -  1      60  |
|WALL OF STEEL                    2         STRIKING ATTACK   20 -  17 -  5      54  |
|AIMED BLOW                       1         LUNGING ATTACK     9 -   8 -  0      53  |
|TOTAL PARRY                      1         TOTAL PARRY        6 -   6 -  1      50  |
|PARRY-LUNGE                      0         PARRY-STRIKE       3 -   3 -  0      50  |
|PARRY-STRIKE                     0         PARRY-LUNGE        4 -   4 -  1      50  |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE                    0         BASHING ATTACK    18 -  22 -  1      45  |
|LUNGING ATTACK                   0         PARRY-RIPOSTE      1 -   2 -  0      33  |
|SLASHING ATTACK                  0         SLASHING ATTACK    0 -   0 -  0       0  |

Turn 506 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:

AIMED BLOW         1 -  0     BASHING ATTACK     1 -  2         3  BASHING ATTACK 
TOTAL PARRY        1 -  0     PARRY-LUNGE        0 -  0         3  AIMED BLOW     
STRIKING ATTACK    2 -  1     PARRY-STRIKE       0 -  0         2  STRIKING ATTACK
WALL OF STEEL      1 -  1     PARRY-RIPOSTE      0 -  0         2  TOTAL PARRY    
                              LUNGING ATTACK     0 -  0         1  PARRY-LUNGE    
                              SLASHING ATTACK    0 -  0     

                               TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
BASHING ATTACK   PHANTOM INJURY 10199        4   1  0   56 BASH BROS DL (1744)
STRIKING ATTACK  TRUMP 10190                 3   2  0   52 CARD SHARKS! (1743)

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 PHANTOM INJURY 10199.  The most popular warrior this 
turn was ROOK 10188.  The ten other most popular fighters were POKER 10187, CRUSHED 
HOPE 10196, PHANTOM INJURY 10199, TRUMP 10190, DUECE 10191, RECOVERY TIME 10206, FULL 
ROSTER 10198, FAVORITE PLAYER 10197, CRAZY 8'S 10189, and  0.

The least popular fighter this week was CRAZY 8'S 10189.  The other ten least popular 
fighters were FAVORITE PLAYER 10197, FULL ROSTER 10198, RECOVERY TIME 10206, DUECE 
10191, TRUMP 10190, PHANTOM INJURY 10199, CRUSHED HOPE 10196, POKER 10187, ROOK 
10188, and  0.

                                CHALLENGES AND AVOIDS

To clarify:  You issue Challenges to warriors, but Avoid teams.  
To Challenge, write that warrior's name and ID# in the space provided. 
To Avoid, write the team's name and Team ID in that space. 
Make sure you include the ID!

               NEW GRADUATES--FROM ALL ARENAS (INCLUDING CLOSED ARENAS)

For those of you who keep track of such things, one additional warrior graduated from 
regular DM arenas (including closed arenas) since the last tournament. 

                   STOMP THIS! (82-22961) of ALL YOU ZOMBIES (3660)
                     SURGEON WARPATH (84-14457) of 060310U (2539)

Congrats to the grads. -- Green Eyes

                             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, ?)

                      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

                               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

                          '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>

                                   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

                  TURF WAR XI EXTRAVAGANZA(TWIXIE)RULES (Rev 6-3-18)

                           (Estimated start T398, OCT 2018)

               Bring acclaim and glory to the North Fork (DM47) arena.

Anyone may participate; known alliances, new alliances, thrown-together alliances, or 
temporary alliances created solely to compete in the Turf War!  To participate, each 
alliance must:

    1.  Announce as Captain of an alliance in the North Fork (DM 47) newsletter. (List 
        teams and managers in the three-team alliance. (Also designate alliance name.)
    2.  Announce in the newsletter which Captain/alliance your team is joining.
    3.  Announcements made on the D2 Forums or elsewhere will not be accepted.

Captains are responsible for:

    1.  Announcing, in the North Fork newsletter, those who are a part of their 
        alliance. Both Manager announcement and Captain announcement/confirmation are 
        required.
    2.  Distribution of certs should your alliance win the Turf War.
    3.  Submit two (2) RSI Roll-Up Certificates to participate. (Note: Captains may, 
        if they wish, submit certs for all potential members of their alliance.)

Participating managers who are not Captains must:

    1.  Submit two (2) RSI Roll-Up Certificates to participate (Unless already 
        submitted by Captain.) Note: extras will not be returned, but will go into the 
        winning pool of prizes.)
    2.  Announce an intent to compete with their manager name, team name, and alliance 
        they will join in the North Fork (DM 47) newsletter
    3.  Announcement made on the D2 Forums or Chatzy will not be accepted.

No alliance scores will be tabulated until two RSI Gift Certificates are received, and 
participant indication and captain confirmation are posted in the North Fork 
newsletter. NO EXCEPTIONS.             

All entry certs should be sent to Oz or The Consortium via RSI.

Only one (1) team per player/manager may compete in the Turf Wars, and only one team 
per player/manager may compete in North Fork DM47 during the Turf War.  No arena 
multiple teams or aliases will be allowed.  Violations will result in immediate 
manager disqualification (including team point adjustments) from the Turf War (so be 
sure to take any multiple teams OFF of Team Maintenance and be certain not to run any 
other team warriors). NOTE: Since alliances require three teams, this would mean the 
remaining alliance/alliance members cannot score in the TW.

Any Turf War team must show/be posted/listed in the DM47 Newsletter just prior to 
their actual scoring/participation. (E.g. New teams, transfers, current teams must 
show up in the newsletter prior to the beginning of participation, allowing opponent 
knowledge and challenging/avoiding.) Manager/teams may not participate/score in the 
Turf War the same turn they are first posted in the newsletter. (So get your team in 
the newsletter early.)Clarifying: All teams MUST show up in the NL just prior to the 
first TW turn to be allowed to score in the first TW round. Teams do not have to run 
that turn prior to TW-T1, but will have had to run shortly before to allow their 
warriors to be visible in the newsletter just prior to TW-T1.

Scoring will NOT be retroactive for teams/alliances that do not properly declare or 
get captain confirmation or fail to send a Gift Certificate by Turn 1.  In other 
words, if your Gift Certificate is not received until Turn 3 of the Turf War, and you 
have fought on Turns 1 and 2, your score will not begin until Turn 3.  All conditions 
must be met before scoring will begin--declaration, confirmation, and Gift Certificate 
received.

No declarations or confirmations will be accepted after Turn 3 of the Turf War.

For purposes of scoring, the moderators will score the Turf War and settle any and all 
disputes as they arise.  Their decisions will be final. (Note: the intent is to have a 
very thorough set of rules so that few decisions, if any, are required from the 
moderators.)

No warrior may be substituted without the proper use of the DA or arena death or death 
in a tournament or graduation. There must be a maximum of five only on a team at any 
point and time. (The penalty for such substitution is -10 points.) 

SCORING will be as follows:

*  Only top two base score teams score/count per round per alliance.
*  Top one base score team per alliance scores twice (double).
*  Lowest team base score per alliance gets a ?pass? and does not score.
*  Team is disqualified for round scoring if fighting less than 5 fights. 
   (Exception:The turn after a Mailer or FTF where a death occurred to a TW 
   team/manager, the manager may fight only four and be scored. If multiple deaths, 
   then multiple ?non fight? exemptions occur for that turn after the tournament.)
*  If a team is disqualified from scoring, the remaining top one base score team 
   scores double and the lowest team gets a ?pass? and does not score.
*  If two disqualified teams occur, the third team cannot score double and only scores 
   single.

BASE SCORING =    W = +2       L = -1      K = +1       Death = 0  

Those scores are the same for match ups, up or down challenges, NPC matches, 
or Dark Arena fights. With these exceptions:

--- Each warrior is limited to two DA matches during the TW. A 3rd and subsequent DA 
    fight during the TW shall be scored at -5 points (win or lose.)
--- Alliance Match Up scored = 0 for each warrior. Kill point disallowed.
--- Intra Alliance Challenge scored = -1 for each warrior; no kill points may score.  
    (It is not the spirit of competition to challenge fellow members of the same 
    alliance. Hence, challenges as such will be scored as losses for both warriors 
    with no kill points awarded.)

First 6 rounds scores 1x.
End of round 6, top alliance adds 6 points. 2nd adds 4, 3rd adds 2, 4th adds 1.
Rounds 7 thru 9 scores 2x.
Final round 10 scores 3x.

Tournament Considerations:

    1.  Tournament participation is allowed and ENCOURAGED as a great form of 
        recognition for North Fork.
    2.  It is an opportunity to gain skills and preferred challenging within the Turf 
        War.

Special Considerations:

    1.  Each alliance begins the Turf War with zero (0) points.
    2.  There will be NO alliance or team changes once the contest has begun.  If you 
        begin the Turf War with Alliance X, you must end the Turf War with Alliance X.  
        If you begin the Turf War with Team X, you must end the Turf War with Team X.
    3.  There will be a maximum of three (3) teams/managers allowed per alliance for 
        the Turf War VII. The minimum is three (3).
    4.  The Dark Arena may be used without penalty.(Limit twice per warrior.)
    5.  If at any time, the Moderators determine that any non-TW team in the arena is 
        aiding and/or abetting any TW alliance or team, the affected points won by the 
        gifted team/alliance will be disallowed and the aiding non-TW team will be 
        asked to desist from play in the arena until after the Turf War concludes.

Prizes:
The Turf War is meant to be a near "winner takes all" contest. It is the 
responsibility of the Captain of the winning alliance to distribute Gift Certificates.  
Moderators will submit a list of each manager winner to RSI at the completion of the 
contest for the non-Certificate and RSI awarded prizes, to then be claimed by the 
manager from RSI Customer Service within 6 months.

    *  Winning alliance gets 90% of the pooled certs.
    *  Individual Team with most wins in 10 rounds gets 10% of the pooled certs.
    *  RSI awards: (all must be applied to DM47 warriors, cannot create out-of-bounds 
       warrior, and one max prize applied to any warrior ? all within 6 months)(one 
       max prize means that if you win two prizes they cannot be applied to the same 
       warrior.)
    *  Winning alliance captain may choose two (each manager/team receives same prize 
       as chosen by captain):
       - Limited Damage Bump (bump one level damage) (warrior must have fought in the 
         TW)
       - Stat replace (remove 2 SZ, replace 2 to any other stat) (warrior must have 
         fought in the TW)
       - Choice Replacement (Receive 5 replacements, choose 1, delete 4)
       - Replacement stat swap (Replace/flip any 2 stats on one replacement)
    *  2nd place alliance captain may choose one (each manager/team receives same 
       prize as chosen by captain)
       - Favorite weapon (warrior must have fought in the TW)
       - Favorite rhythm (warrior must have participated in TW)
       - Free stat raise
    *  Participation Award to all teams/managers who fight 46 min fights (of 50):  
       2 skills (to one warrior)

These RSI awards will be listed by the Moderators within two weeks of round ten for 
individual claiming from RSI within 4 turns of the end of TWX. The certs will be 
mailed to the winning alliance by the Moderators within two weeks of the end of the 
TW.

Moderators:
The Moderators for this event will be Oz, Master Darque, and Assur. (The TWX 
Triumvirate) They will arbitrate all dealings during the course of the contest.  Their 
decisions will be final.  All questions, comments, and scoring disputes may be 
directed to Land of Oz or Darque Forces or Bash Bros Park via diplo in DM 47.  
Managers with internet access may send a private message to [The Consortium] or 
[Darque] or [Assur] on the Duel2 Forums.  Lastly, you may also email questions, 
comments, and scoring disputes to rebelnerfherder@yahoo.com or wfms101@aol.com or or 
mikey.alexander@hisstrengthandwork.com

Addendum: 
Examples of scoring for clarification.
Code = win-loss-kill-death   (W = +2  L = -1  K = +1  Death = 0) 

Example #1:
Team A goes 2-3-0-0 (points = +4-3+0-0 = +1)
Team B goes 3-2-1-0 (points = +6-2+1-0 = +5)
Team C goes 2-3-2-0 (points = +4-3+2-0 = +3)
Team B top score, scores twice 2x+5 (+10)
Team A lowest score, does not score and gets a pass.
Team C, then, scores normal at (+3)
Alliance Score = 10 + 3 = +13

Example #2:
Team A goes 4-0-1-0 (points = +8-0+1-0 = +9)
Team B goes 3-2-0-0 (points = +6-2+0-0 = +4)
Team C goes 2-3-0-0 (points = +4-3+0-0 = +1)
Team A is disqualified from scoring having not fought five fights.
If a team is disqualified, then the top remaining team scores double while the lowest 
remaining score gets a ?pass?.
Team B top remaining score, scores twice = 2 x +4 (+8)
Team C lowest score, does not score and gets a pass.
Alliance Score = 8

Example #3
Team A goes 4-1-1-0 (points +8-1+1+0 = +8) 
However, Team A fought the DA for the 3rd time = -5.
Team A adjusted to (+8-1=1=0-5 = +3)
Team B goes 1-4+0-0 (points +2-4+0-0 = -2)
Team C goes 1-4+1-0 (points +2-4+1-0 = -1)
Team A top score, scores twice 2x+3 (+6)
Team B lowest score, does not score and gets a pass.
Team C, then, scores normal at (-1)
Alliance score = +6-1 = +5

Example #4
Team A goes 1-4-0-0 (points = +2-4+0-0 = -2)
Team B goes 1-4-0-0 (points = +2-4+0-0 = -2)
Team C goes 0-5-0-0 (points = +0-5+0-0 = -5)
Team A or B is top score and scores twice 2x-2 = -4
Team C lowest score, does not score and gets a pass.
Team B, then, scores normal at (-2)
Alliance score = -4-2 = -6

Example #5
Team A goes 3-2-0 with a winning match-up with Team B alliance mate.
Team B goes 2-3-1-0 with a winning and killing challenge to Team C alliance mate.
Team B also lost the alliance match-up with Team A.
Team C goes 1-4-0-1 having been killed in a challenge from alliance mate Team B
Team A points normally = +6-2+0-0 = +4, but one win was an alliance match-up which 
scores as 0, hence score = +4-2+0-0 = +2
Team B points normally = +4-3+1-0 = +2, but one loss was an alliance match up which 
counts as 0, and one winning kill was an intra alliance challenge which the win counts 
as -1 and the kill is negated. Hence Team B score = +1-2+0-0 = -1
Team C points normally = +2-4+0-0 = -2; with one loss and kill coming from an intra 
alliance challenge, but the IAC (intra alliance challenge) scores (-1)the same as a 
loss and there are no points scored for being killed, the +2-4+0-0 = (-2) stands.
Team A top score, scores twice 2x+2 (+4)
Team C lowest score, does not score and gets a pass.
Team B, then, scores normal at (-1)
Alliance score = +4-1 = +3

Remember: (W = +2  L = -1  K = +1  Death = 0) 
It only gets complicated with intra alliance match-ups (IAMs) and intra alliance 
challenges. (IACs)