DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER

Date   : 12/03/2021    Duedate: 12/16/2021

NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA

DM 93    TURN 597

This Week's Top Honors

THE DUELMASTER IS

POSITION IS EMPTY

Chartered Recognition Leader   Unchartered Recognition Leader

POSITION IS EMPTY              POSITION IS EMPTY
                               
                               

Popularity Leader              This Week's Favorite

FURIOUS INHALER                JULIAN
PHARMANOMICON (1823)           LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)
(93-10674) [5-4-1,20]          (93-10683) [3-3-0,26]

THE CURRENT TOP TEAM

LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)

          TEAMS ON THE MOVE            TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name                  Point Gain  Chartered Team
1. MILCHAMAH RETURN (1832)       44 
2. ANITSCARBUTICS (1824)         28    COLD IRON BLOWS (794)
3. LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)        11    Unchartered Team
4. THE LEGACIES (1826)           10 
5. PHARMANOMICON (1823)          9     SHRUBS (1829)

The Top Teams

Career Win-Loss Record           W   L  K    %  Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns    W  L K
 1/ 1*SHRUBS (1829)             18   7  1 72.0   1/ 2*LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)   11  3 1
 2/ 3*PHARMANOMICON (1823)      24  19  4 55.8   2/ 1*SHRUBS (1829)            10  5 1
 3/ 5*LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)    18  16  2 52.9   3/ 7*ANITSCARBUTICS (1824)     7  5 0
 4/ 4*BB BIG PROJECTS (1827)    15  15  0 50.0   4/ 4*BB BIG PROJECTS (1827)    7  8 0
 5/ 6*ANITSCARBUTICS (1824)     15  17  0 46.9   5/ 6*PHARMANOMICON (1823)      6  9 1
 6- 7*FALLEN WORLDS (1831)       4   5  1 44.4   6- 5*FINAL FANTASY (1819)      5  0 0
 7- 8*FINAL FANTASY (1819)      12  19  0 38.7   7/ 0*MILCHAMAH RETURN (1832)   5 10 0
 8/ 0*MILCHAMAH RETURN (1832)    5  10  0 33.3   8- 9*SHAKN-NOT-STIRD (1820)    3  2 1
 9- 9*SHAKN-NOT-STIRD (1820)    11  30  1 26.8   9- 8*FALLEN WORLDS (1831)      2  4 1
10/ 0*THE LEGACIES (1826)        6  18  0 25.0  10/ 0*THE LEGACIES (1826)       1  8 0

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

                                    TEAM SPOTLIGHT

                                   Rhythm and Blues
                               A Few Thoughts on Rhythm

     Every warrior has a favorite rhythm--a favored number for Offensive Effort and 
Activity Level.  (Note, to the best of my knowledge and belief, there is NO favored 
Kill Desire.)  This rhythm is set when the warrior is created, and it is revealed to 
the manager when the warrior graduates.
     I have never been entirely clear as to what, exactly, using the favored rhythm 
does for the warrior, but there is a general agreement that it does something, usually 
something good.  Paces him, perhaps, to get the most fight for the least endurance 
burn?  Paces him so that he can make the most of his style's specific strengths and 
minimize the weaknesses?  Something like that, no doubt. 
     This implies that favored rhythms are linked to style, and that certain ranges 
may be specific to style, and I understand that the major number crunchers have 
demonstrated this to be so.  It further suggests to me that if one knows the range of 
favored rhythms for a given style, one may be able to give a warrior of that style a 
more effective strategy than one derived simply by guessing and looking at the 
warrior's stats and overview.
     Wherefore I have pulled out the favorite rhythms by style of the graduated 
warriors available for my inspection.  You will note that the size of the samples 
varies a lot from style to style.  This roughly indicates the ease with which I have 
been able to keep the different styles alive until graduation, modified by my personal 
preferences as to style. 
     The first letter in a pair indicates favored Offensive Effort, the second favored 
Activity Level.

     VH=very high  H=high   M=moderate    L=low    VL=very low

Distributing the ten numbers available in an even and logical manner, we get:

     VH= 10, 9    H= 8,7    M= 6,5    L= 4,3    VL= 2,1

We don't know exactly which number of the pair a given "favorite" is, but this is 
close enough.

     I'm including the raw data here, despite the fact that it looks very boring, 
heck, it is very boring, so that any of you who wish to may study it and make your own 
deductions.

Aimed Blows, twenty-two graduated warriors polled as to favorite rhythms:
      L/VL   L/L   VL/L   VL/M    L/VL   M/VL   M/L    L/VL VL/VL   L/M
      L/L    L/M    L/L   VL/L   VL/M    L/VL   L/L   VL/L   L/M    M/L
     VL/VL   L/L
Notice a pattern here?  Nothing higher than Moderate, and every pair has at least one 
Low or Very Low.  In other words, Aimed Blows prefer to be run "scummy." Or if you're 
feeling charitable, they like to take their time and make their blows count, which is 
natural enough when you consider that accuracy is their strong suit. 

Bashers, twenty-five graduated warriors polled.
     VH/VL  VH/VL  VH/VL   H/VL   H/L    H/L    H/M    H/L  M/VL   H/VL
     VH/VL   H/L    H/M    M/L    H/L    H/L    H/M   VH/L VH/VL  VH/VL
      H/L   VH/M    H/L    H/VL   M/L
Again, there's an obvious pattern, but it's a different one. Offensive Effort no lower 
than Moderate, Activity Level no higher than Moderate, and often a very sharp division 
between the two in any given pair.  High Offensive Effort, low Activity Level.  No 
instances of M/M listed here!  Bashers are very direct in their fighting: attack, 
attack, attack.  No finesse, little dodging.

Lungers, forty graduated warriors polled.
     VH/H    H/H    H/M    M/H    M/H    M/VH   L/H   VH/M VH/VH   H/VH
      H/VH   M/VH  VH/M    H/H    H/VH   M/VH   H/VH   H/H VH/M    M/VH
     VH/VH   L/VH   L/H    H/VH   M/H    M/M    M/H    M/M  H/VH   H/H
     VH/VH  VH/H    M/VH   L/H    M/H    H/H    H/H   VH/M  M/M   VH/H
Everything but VL is represented in this group.  Two out of the forty warriors have 
rhythms of M/M.  It may be significant that these are both fairly old warriors; other 
anomalies have shown up from time to time in very old warriors. Other than that, every 
pair contains either H or VH at least once, although there seems to be no definite 
preference as to which position it should be in.  A slight bias toward faster OE than 
AL, but the sample isn't large enough to be sure of that. It's common to see BOTH 
numbers H or VH for this style.  Lungers like to run fast, and a good lunger fight has 
a lot of action--dodging to the side, leaping over or ducking under a blow, as well as 
attacking.  Of course, that means they tend to burn out fast, too, so you have to plan 
for that.

Parry-Lungers, twenty graduated warriors polled.
      M/VH   M/H    L/M    H/VH  VL/H    M/M    H/M    H/H  H/M    H/L
      M/L    H/H    L/L    H/L    M/M    H/L    L/L    H/M VL/L    L/VH
Granting that this is a small sample, I see no pattern here. P-lungers vary a lot from 
one warrior to the next, and you have to experiment to find the rhythm that works best 
for any individual warrior.  Some are more lunger, some more parriers.  In fact, you 
could say that the "Offensive Total Parries" and "Defensive Lungers" that some 
managers write articles about could be summed up as: Parry-Lunger.

Parry-Ripostes, a mere fourteen graduated warriors polled.
     VL/M    M/M    M/M    H/M    L/M   VL/M    L/M    L/H  M/H    L/H
     VL/M    L/H    L/M    L/M
Hardly a definitive sample (these are hard to graduate), but there seems to be a 
pattern of Offensive Effort no higher than Moderate (okay, one, unless it's a typo), 
Activity Level no lower than Moderate.  I must admit that I have been known to run 
them with an OE of High or Very High when I got tired of having them jumped by 
offensive-styled warriors.  Some rippers can handle that without flailing or getting 
tired, and some can't.

Parry-Strikers, twenty-one polled.
      M/VL   M/VL  VL/M    M/M   VL/H    L/L    L/VL  VL/L L/L    M/L
      M/H    L/M    M/VL   L/VL  VL/L   VL/VL  VL/M   VL/L L/L   VL/L
      M/L
I see every range of numbers here but VH, and no obvious pattern. Figures. Everyone 
says this style is notional when it comes to how they want to run.  A large sample 
might show some clear tendency, but from this small group, all I can say is, they 
don't seem to like to run very fast.

Slashers, sixty warriors polled.  What can I say?  I like slashers, and when I was 
starting out, I ran a lot of them, many of whom lived to graduate.  In some cases, 
this was unfortunate, but at the time, it seemed like a good idea....
     VH/VL   H/L    H/VL   M/L    H/VL   H/L    M/VL   H/L   H/VL   M/M
      M/M   VH/VL  VH/L    H/VL   H/VL  VH/L    H/VL   H/L   M/VL  VH/L
     VH/M    M/VL   H/M    M/VL   M/VL   H/L    H/L    M/L   H/VL  VH/VL
     VH/VL   M/M    H/VL   M/VL   H/VL   H/VL  VH/L    H/L   H/L    H/VL
      M/L    M/L    H/VL   M/M    M/L    M/L   VH/VL  VH/L   M/VL   H/VL
      H/VL  VH/VL   H/VL   H/VL  VH/L    H/VL   M/L    H/VL  VH/VL
Now that we're back among the pure offensive styles, a pattern emerges again. No 
Offensive Effort lower than Moderate, no Activity Level higher than Moderate. Within 
those limits, anything goes--from Moderate/Moderate to Very High/Very Low. Slashers 
like to run hard, they don't like to stand around and scum their opponents, but 
they'll accept a modestly cautious approach if it's called for.  Pay attention to the 
details in your warrior's fight.  If he starts getting tired early on, you probably 
need to lower his Offensive Effort some.  If he never gets the first blow and loses 
continually because of that, raise Offensive Effort.

Strikers, sixty-three polled.  (shrug)  When in doubt, make it a striker....
     VL/M    L/L    L/L    H/VL   M/H    M/L    L/M    L/L   L/VL   M/L
      M/VL   M/L    H/VL   H/L    M/L    M/VL   M/L    M/H   L/VL   M/M
      L/M    L/VL   M/VL   L/VL   L/VL   M/L    L/VL  VL/L   H/L    M/H
      M/H    H/VL  VL/L    H/VL   M/VL  VL/L    H/VL   M/VL  M/VL  VL/VL
      M/VL   L/H    H/L    M/VL   H/VL   M/M    L/VL   M/L   M/L    M/L
      H/M    M/L    L/M   VL/M    M/VL   M/L    M/M    L/L   M/VL   M/L
      H/VL   H/H    M/L
Neither Offensive Effort nor Activity Level of Very High appears, but that leaves a 
lot of possible combinations (okay, only sixteen, but that seems like a lot when 
you're writing an article late at night), and most of them seem to show up on this 
list.  Strikers, like P-Strikers, need tinkering.

Total Parries, twenty-nine warriors polled.
     VL/M   VL/L    M/VL  VL/VL   L/L   VL/VL  VL/M   VL/VL   L/M   VL/L
     VL/M    L/M    L/H    M/M    M/VL  VL/VL  VL/L   VL/VL   L/L   VL/VL
     VL/L    L/L   VL/L    L/L   VL/L    L/VL  VL/L   VL/L   VL/L
No Offensive Effort higher than Moderate, no Activity Level except one higher than 
Moderate.  This is what you'd expect, right?  Total Parries conserve their energy.  
While you can run them faster, they aren't going to like it. And if they don't like 
it, they aren't going to perform really well.

Walls of Steel, thirty-five polled.
      M/VL   L/L    L/VL   M/L    M/M    L/VL   H/VL   L/VL M/VL  VH/M
      M/L    L/M    H/VL   H/M    L/L    L/L    M/L    M/L  M/VL   M/L
      M/L    H/L   VH/VL   H/L    M/L    L/M    H/M    M/M  M/M    H/L
      M/VL  VH/M    H/L    M/VL   H/M
No Offensive Effort of Very Low, no Activity Level higher than Moderate.  Some people 
call this style the "parry-slash," others say it's a prime candidate for running like 
a berserker.  Otherwise, a lot of variation.  Some are scummy (L/VL) and some are 
slice-and-dice machines (VH/M).  Too bad you can't tell right off which you've got, 
eh?  This style needs attention and experimenation for best results.

Now that you've plowed through all the tedious stuff (at least, it was tedious for me 
to organize the data, hope it was less so for you to look at it), I'll offer a word of 
advice to new players.  Make all or most of your first warriors of the styles that 
have clear patterns.  Bashers and slashers are the easiest to do well with right off 
the bat.  Lungers and strikers are a little trickier, but not much. The others are a 
lot trickier.  Winning right off with your first attempts at those styles-- especially 
once you're out of Noblish Island and into the cold, cruel mainland, is unlikely.  
However, the study and struggle needed to master one of the trickier styles is amply 
rewarded by the rush of guiding one to a winning record, a duelmastership, and 
graduation.

                                          -- Jorja
                                             The Middle Way

               +]H[+-----+]H[+ Question of the Week #9 +]H[+-----+]H[+

The question, turn 420:

All -- I was noticing the skill modifiers for low to high size; do these negatives 
keep a warrior from being successful at the high end of the game? -- Hanibal -- Q.O.W.

Answers, turn 421:

Q.O.W. (size) -- Smaller size has always had an advantage in the upper levels of the 
game, especially at the top of Primus and Gateway.  The bonus to defense and parry 
offsets the initiative loss and the damage taking and dealing that a large size 
provides.  Of course, large size comes with its own defense penalty.  A high defense 
is critical in the upper levels where it is imperative not to get hit. If you are 
unhittable, it comes down to an endurance contest.  However, huge warriors, especially 
those gifted in defense can make devastating opponents on their road to the top.  They 
are tough and dish out more than all the little pip squeaks ever could.  It's much 
easier to get a great warrior out of a smaller size than out of a larger size of 
course, due to stat distribution to the other critical areas like WT, WL and DF, so 
finding a great huge warrior is difficult.  My best is Khazakh who is in 105 right 
now.  He's gifted in defense and endurance, and he's devastating in the arena.  But 
some day, near the very top, his size will probably be a hindrance unless his attack 
is absolutely crazy and he can hit the little guys. -- Adie

Q.O.W. (answer) -- It depends greatly on what you define as the top of the game. 
Certainly any sized warrior can be effective at the top of a basic arena or any AD 
arena.  By the time you're talking Primus or Gateway it's mainly a matter of whether 
or not your team can muster enough warriors to win magical prizes to enhance you, 
those without them must be truly gifted indeed. -- Maxwell Honorblade 

Q.O.W. -- Do the small size skill negatives prevent success in the top end game? -- 
Certainly not!  While the negatives are there, remember that small size allows more 
"points" elsewhere, easily making up the skills.  The smaller warriors are *often* the 
leaders at the top end.  There are also TC-winning ways to modify warriors, and this 
past FTF prize is "very expensive" for this very purpose. -- Kennelworth 

QoW -- I don't participate at the Primus/Gateway level of play, but the word is that 
ability to deal a powerful blow remains important and thus allows the large warriors 
(read: lungers) to remain competitive with their smaller peers.  What I do know is 
that my sz 3 Lunger that's +4 in defense will have, when completely maxxed out in both 
skills and stats, the highest number of naturally attainable defense skills in the 
game.  Unfortunately, she'll only do tremendous if she's lucky. -- Generalissimo 
Puerco

QOW -- My limited experience in the high end of the game (I have one whole Gateway 
warrior...WHOO!) the most important skills are, in order:  attack, defense, and 
initiative.  So while it isn't good to lose defense, init is a valuable asset as well 
(helps keep the momentum).  Another aspect in the end game is the damage rating, which 
size does help and can make a LOT of difference.  But since it is better to have a 21 
wit than a 21 size, I would say that in general over 11 size is unwanted. -- Anti 

The questions this time were in regard to the Style-vs-Style chart and how to run a 
parry-riposte.

Parry-Riposte:  How to run them?  Hmm... well, I've only run three so far, but I think 
I've seen a lot of what they can and can't do.  From my experience, if their parry is 
decent, they can take a couple good hits, and carry decent, give them heavy armor and 
run parry tactic (very helpful with their low parry bases), but at maybe 4- 5-5, or 
faster at 5-3-5.  The parry tactic augments their defense, but they'll still try to 
riposte since they have so much of it.  For those who are more frail, can't carry 
much, and have decent defense, I go in lighter armor and run maybe 3-6-4 (I've never 
run dodge tactic here, but I'd try).  My first ripper to AD had a 7 ST, did normal 
damage, and she ran in ALE/L running with moderate activity. She graduated 16- 6.  Of 
course, she's also +5 in att, +2 in par.  But she still defends much better than she 
parries in that light armor. -- Adie P.S.  As for early in the career, scumming is 
handy, but put OE up just a bit so they'll swing if given the opportunity.  Armor for 
sure to keep them alive unless you're bold.

Leeta -- I've seen that chart too, but I have no idea if it was based off of a large 
number of fights.  I think those numbers for strikers reflects their great ability to 
throw those crits early in the career, and to be quick to the first hit. For parry- 
strikers, I think it merely reflects the variability in how they can be run and 
designed.  The chart of course is based on gross stereo-typing of the styles.  I 
wouldn't use it too much even as a beginner. -- Adie

Leeta -- I think that "chance to win by style" chart is silly.  Doesn't it say that 
lungers will almost always beat aimers?  My aimers tend to do pretty well against 
lungers, how about yours? -- Generalissimo Puerco

Leeta and ALL others -- While I have not seen this chart, I can't help but say that it 
is probably not very accurate.  Too many things factor into a match-up of two warriors 
to expect style to [the original was cut off by Hal, unfortunately]. 

On thinking it over in the light of the past month's fights, I have a feeling that the 
chart is probably rather old, and that recent advances in management technique have 
drastically undermined its usefulness in most instances. Discounting luck (which one 
should never do, of course), and all other things being more or less equal, the best 
manager is more likely to win, rather than the one whose warrior has the favored 
style.  (Now, there's an inflamatory statement!)  Probably that overstates the case, 
but I think managerial skill is now a significant factor, anyway, even if it isn't 
decisive. -- Jorja

***---------*---------*---------*---------**---------*---------*---------*---------***

TWILIGHT ZONE STRATEGY

Milchamah Return posting a 1-9-0 won/loss record after their first two rounds of 
fights is not entirely shocking, at least when highlighted and overshadowed by the 
shocking strategy that Meginnaw Flaming was using, especially since Milchamah Return 
is on Team Maintenance!

Team Maintenance is an option that can be requested for your stable to run the same 
strategy, wear the same Armor and wield the same weapons that were used the previous 
fight for each warrior. This makes sure that your stable does not miss a turn due to 
slow or misplaced mailings, or just plain forgetting to send in strategies for your 
warriors, in plenty of time before the next due date!

Managers also have the option for putting one or more of their fighters on Warrior 
Maintenance, but I usually request the Team Maintenance option to make sure every 
warrior fights every turn, unless they die on the arena sands!

A Replacement Warrior is automatically included as a participant on Warrior 
Maintenance, as soon as the strategy sheet for the replacement warrior has been 
received by RSI and in-putted into the system.

Prior to the T-596 due date, I had sent an Email to RSI asking if I had placed my new 
stable on Team Maintenance? Sandy sent me a confirmation that Milchamah Return was 
already on Team Maintenance.

Meginnaw Flaming is a 16(1)-12-6-13-21-10-7 Total Parry that at creation included the 
name Flaming, as a reminder to myself that this particular warrior was created to be a 
Stat Burner right out of the gate!

As you can see, she has already exercised and increased her Strength from her first 
fight, which has noticeably improved the power of her blows [from Normal to Good 
Damage] and also noticeably improved her capacity to carry weapons and armor. She was 
created with Normal Encumbrance.

Therefore, being on Team Maintenance, she should have been training Strength, but on 
her fight sheet for T-596, she trained Skills. I am not complaining about her second 
loss and receiving Skill Learns in Attack, Riposte, Decisiveness and Riposte, but I am 
shocked by how radically different her fight strategy morphed from her T-595 fight 
strategy.

Remember: Meginnaw Flaming is on Team Maintenance, meaning that what her strategy 
sheet showed for T-595 should show the same for T-596. She went from training Strength 
to training Skills!

On T-595 her weapon selection included a Broad Sword with an off-hand Small Shield. 
Her backup weapons included a Short Sword and a War Hammer. Note she is well suited to 
the Broad Sword, although she does not quite have the Deftness to use both the Broad 
Sword and the Small Shield together at the same time!

At some point the Burning Plan is to train Deftness from 7 to 9, but I digress!

On T-596 she was armed with a Morning Star, which is an Unorthodox or Unsuited Weapon 
for a Total Parry! Remember: she is supposed to be on Team Maintenance, running with 
the same Weapons and Back Ups that she had run with on the previous turn!

She was also armed with an off-handed Medium Shield. Again, she does not have enough 
Deftness to use these weapons at the same time! Plus, her Small Shield became a Medium 
Shield on T-596.

Her backup weapons on T-595 were the Short Sword and a War Hammer, but on T-596 her 
backup weapons included a War Hammer, a Short Spear and a Small Shield last cycle!

Definitely Not in Harmony with her backup weapons from the previous cycle! Remember 
that she is supposed to be on Team Maintenance!

What about her Armor you may be wondering?

On T-595 she wore Ring Mail and a Helm, but on T-596 she was wearing Scale Mail and a 
Full Helm!

The Bizarre Strategy Differences Do Not Stop Here!

Her T-595 strategies for minutes one thru six and desperation are a far cry from what 
her strategies were for T-596 and you can see how bizarre the strategies are for T-596 
without my revealing her debut strategy that should have been the same for T-596 on 
Team Maintenance!

Minute One:   10-10-10-HE-BD-B-D
Minute Two:    9-10-10-AB-BD-B-D
Minute Three:  8-10-10-CH-HE-S-R
Minute Four:   6- 6- 6-RL-AM-L-S
Minute Five:   5- 5- 5-RA-AM-S-D
Minute Six:   10-10-10-CH-HE-L-S
Desperation:  10-10-10-HE-HE-B-R

Draw Your Own Conclusions!

Using an Offensive Tactic with a Defensive Tactic in any minute or desperation is well 
known in our dueling community as being a futile strategy!

I do not ever recall using an Offensive Tactic with a Defensive Tactic!

Not even when I first began playing this game 30-plus years ago!

Trying to Bash while Dodging is Hilarious!

Slashing while Riposting is Unproductive!

Lunging while using Response is also an Unproductive Choice!

Slashing and Dodging are also a Hilarious Mind Picture!

Bashing while trying to Riposte is also Futile!

Welcome to the Twilight Zone!

"May Your Blades Be Sharp and Your Wits Sharper!"

--- Hammer, Duel 2 Sponsor, mgr of Milchamah Return

***---------*---------*---------*---------**---------*---------*---------*---------***

What is Knack?

If you stick around Duel2, you will eventually hear about a concept called 'Knack.'  
It is also sometimes called a warrior's Luck Factor or Hidden Stats.  Nobody 
completely understands what it is, but most managers agree that it exists.

First, understand that while Knack exists, there are many other items that contribute 
to a warrior's record.  Sometimes you may think you have a knacky warrior, but you 
eventually figure out that it is something else that makes your warrior win.  This can 
include favorites (every warrior has a set of favorites which they get bonuses when 
using), raw skills, as well as just plain old good design and management.

But sometimes, you'll run across a warrior thahen using), raw skills, as well as just 
plain old good design and management.

But sometimes, you'll run across a warrior that fights above and beyond (or below and 
before) their abilities.  I will talk mostly about the positive side of knack, but the 
negative side also exists.  Warriors with knack will just plain find ways to win.  
There is really nothing fancy about it.  It doesn't mean they can't lose, but it does 
mean they win fights they shouldn't.

Perhaps the best example of a Knacky warrior is a famous warrior named Daydream 
Believer.  This PR started 17-14-4-17-7-8-17.  Now understand that this is a solid 
design for a Parry Riposte.  In addition, the warrior rolled +4 in both attack and 
parry.  Finally, Mannequin, the manager, found DDB's favorites from fight #1.  All of 
that together and you'd expect some major success from DDB.  On the other side of 
things, 7 will...  I (and many other managers) would fully expect to lose many a fight 
because of that 7 will. Well, DDB surpassed all expectations and TC'd Rookies, Adepts, 
Champions, and Challengers.  DDB is the only naturally born warrior to TC 4 different 
classes.  People have copied DDB's stats many times since then and to the best of my 
knowledge have never seen more than a single TC from those stats.  Even with all the 
positives DDB had, you shouldn't see 4 TC's from this warrior. But DDB has that 
magical knack (in addition to everything else) and been cloned many times.  While many 
of the clones have died one or more times, they have also generated something like 7 
or 8 additional TC's.

This article is mostly to be aware that there is a 'knack' factor to warriors.  Just 
because a warrior looks horrible on paper doesn't mean it can't win.  And sometimes, 
you may have a warrior that looks fantastic on paper, but can't win.  It is possible 
that warrior has 'inverse knack' and really is worse than it should be.  Or it could 
just be that you've had bad luck or really bad matchups.

                                 DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
                             Notes from the arena champ.

Wow the 10 turns have just flown by haven't they? We've really enjoyed our time here 
in, looks at notes, Noblish Island, and I have enjoyed ruling over you all these last 
2 turns. I hope you have enjoyed the free beers during my reign. Our manager, the 
esteemed, Biff "The Boss" Frothingslosh, pulled from his own stash of vintage brews. 
Yes they may be old and oh ok, there may be some blood in them, but getting to drink 
brews from, 2003 is your privilege...wait, that can't be right. 2003? Have we really 
been gone that long? Dang that was one long party, even for us 'Slosher's. Is Sheila 
Greywand still President?

We are moving to our new bar in Seam to hang with our illustrious brothers Alfredo and 
Manray, so if any of you want to follow along, your beers will be free and we will 
rarely have you muck out Borf's stall. See you all on the other side!

                                      SPY REPORT

     Much has changed in NOBLISH ISLAND since last I was here.  Never fear, Olaf 
Modeen adapts to many situations, as do all successful fighters.  Biff!  Pow!  
NOBLISH ISLAND watched with glee as SHRUBS got knocked off top spot by LORDS OF 
CHAOS!!  Up 'n down.  Up 'n down.  Rankings always change.  Up 'n down.  I think I'm 
gonna be...  Well, ANITSCARBUTICS' 3rd moved them up to 2-1-0 place.  What's with RAW 
RED ONION?  He actually beat PHARMANOMICON's DY-QUIL, and walked away with 17 more 
points from the fight.  Laughs were big at ANITSCARBUTICS while they watched RAW RED 
ONION clobber DY-QUIL.  He lost 13 points and got bruised from objects thrown from 
the stands.  Wouldn't it be nice to have live subjects to practice on?  I hear some 
team is looking into the uses of convicted prisoners.   
     No matter the time or place, men will always duel.  NOBLISH ISLAND thinks 
ANITSCARBUTICS and their 15-17-0 is too much!  If at first you don't succeed, give 
up...  Management must be dealin', as the boys at MILCHAMAH RETURN ain't reelin'!  
ANITSCARBUTICS' mad!  How well I know the feeling of being the most challenged 
warrior, OSRIC!  Don't make idle boasts, they may come back to haunt you.  ISHAM of 
THE LEGACIES knows how to pick 'em.  He challenged OSRIC of LORDS OF CHAOS! who is up 
by 18.  Now was this a wise move?  ISHAM perhaps got his just desserts, seeing as he 
was beat by OSRIC and ended up with 11 recognition points.   
     There have been some calls to lengthen the time limit.  Do you want the fighters 
to walk away, or not?  Someone told BONSAI that ANITSCARBUTICS never Bloodfeuded, 
that it'd have an easy kill.  Well, I'm sure whoever misled you is right sorry.  How 
long have I been here?  I got people to see, places to go...   
     Well, I'm pretty much through.  You guys need to get back practicing.  All work 
and no play makes Olaf a dull fighter.  Work and play no fighter dull Olaf.  
Olaffighterwork and no play.  I don't want to overstay my welcome...-- Olaf Modeen  

DUELMASTER                     W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 AZALEA 10708                  5   0  0  46         SHRUBS (1829)             

ADEPTS                         W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 YUCCA 10710                   4   1  0  46         SHRUBS (1829)             
 DIEBUPROFEN 10676             6   2  0  41         PHARMANOMICON (1823)      
-YUFFIE KISARAGI 10653         5   2  0  40         FINAL FANTASY (1819)      
 BLADDERWRACK 10681            5   2  0  36         ANITSCARBUTICS (1824)     

CHALLENGER INITIATES           W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
 PRESSURE 10697                5   1  0  33         BB BIG PROJECTS (1827)    
 OSRIC 10682                   4   3  1  33         LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)    
 STRESS 10696                  3   3  0  33         BB BIG PROJECTS (1827)    
 RAW RED ONION 10680           4   3  0  31         ANITSCARBUTICS (1824)     
 BONSAI 10709                  3   2  1  28         SHRUBS (1829)             
 DALT 10686                    3   4  0  28         LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)    
 BLEYS 10684                   4   3  0  27         LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)    
 JULIAN 10683                  3   3  0  26         LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)    
-ROGER MOORE 10657             3   4  0  25         SHAKN-NOT-STIRD (1820)    
 SLATER 10688                  4   1  0  24         THE LEGACIES (1826)       
-CELERIS SSVALEN 10721         2   1  1  24         FALLEN WORLDS (1831)      

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-TIMOTHY DALTON 10660          4   5  0  21         SHAKN-NOT-STIRD (1820)    
 MAGGEPHAH PRIEST 10727        2   1  0  21         MILCHAMAH RETURN (1832)   
 FURIOUS INHALER 10674         5   4  1  20         PHARMANOMICON (1823)      
 BENNAKYL 10673                5   4  1  20         PHARMANOMICON (1823)      
 DY-QUIL 10675                 5   4  1  20         PHARMANOMICON (1823)      
 DIERDRE 10685                 4   3  1  20         LORDS OF CHAOS! (1825)    
 DOGWOOD 10707                 3   2  0  19         SHRUBS (1829)             
 AMOXIKILLIN 10749             2   0  0  19         PHARMANOMICON (1823)      
 INTERRUPTIONS 10698           3   3  0  17         BB BIG PROJECTS (1827)    
-BARRY NELSON 10706            2   2  1  16         SHAKN-NOT-STIRD (1820)    
 DELAYS 10718                  2   3  0  13         BB BIG PROJECTS (1827)    
 24-7 SUPPORT 10700            2   4  0  12         BB BIG PROJECTS (1827)    

INITIATES                      W   L  K POINTS      TEAM NAME                  
-RIKKU 10732                   1   0  0  12         FINAL FANTASY (1819)      
 LEMON J 10677                 2   5  0  11         ANITSCARBUTICS (1824)     
 MAHATSAWD REBORN 10729        1   2  0  11         MILCHAMAH RETURN (1832)   
 ISHAM 10689                   1   4  0  11         THE LEGACIES (1826)       
-ZAIUS 10687                   1   4  0  11         THE LEGACIES (1826)       
-BRADDOCK GRIMMS 10722         2   1  0  10         FALLEN WORLDS (1831)      
 MEGINNAW FLAMING 10728        1   2  0  10         MILCHAMAH RETURN (1832)   
 MADKAWRAW ARISES 10755        1   0  0   9         MILCHAMAH RETURN (1832)   
-VINCENT V. 10720              1   0  0   9         FINAL FANTASY (1819)      
 SAVVI 10690                   0   5  0   9         THE LEGACIES (1826)       
-SISSON 10691                  0   4  0   8         THE LEGACIES (1826)       
-AERITH G. 10719               1   0  0   7         FINAL FANTASY (1819)      
-KIMAHRI 10731                 1   0  0   3         FINAL FANTASY (1819)      
 MAKKEH DIFFERENT 10726        0   3  0   3         MILCHAMAH RETURN (1832)   
-LADY SNUSNA 10725             0   3  0   3         FALLEN WORLDS (1831)      
-SEAN CONNERY 10743            0   1  0   1         SHAKN-NOT-STIRD (1820)    
 CREPE MYRTLE 10756            0   1  0   1         SHRUBS (1829)             

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

THE DEAD                W  L K TEAM NAME            SLAIN BY              TURN Revenge?
LIMEY LIME LIME 10678   0  5 0 ANITSCARBUTICS 1824  OSRIC 10682           595   
SCURVICIOUS 10679       4  2 0 ANITSCARBUTICS 1824  BONSAI 10709          596  JUST REVENGED
MADKAWRAW REBOR 10730   0  2 0 MILCHAMAH RETUR 1832 BARRY NELSON 10706    596   
SUDAFEDORA 10672        1  5 1 PHARMANOMICON 1823   CELERIS SSVALEN 10721 595   
LILAC 10711             3  1 0 SHRUBS 1829          DY-QUIL 10675         596   
BLUE JAY 10702          0  1 0 THE SIBLEY'S 1828    DIERDRE 10685         593  NOT REVENGED

                                     PERSONAL ADS

Well, well. Look a Beer Belly Duelmaster! The moral to the story ..... drink lots of 
beer? -- Rose Of Sharon (who probably put away way too much in her younger days)

Ah, shucks, Dy-Quil! My poor aimer, Lilac. Did you have to kill her? What did you do, 
fertilize her with salt the day before? Sadly, Aimers die way too easily. Especially 
young Aimers. -- Rose Of Sharon
P.S. Here she was: 11-9-13-17-9-4-21 Poor Endu, Good Damage, +4 Attack.
P.P.S. Back to the Shrub drawing board.
P.P.S. Couldn't you have used sugar?

Scurvicious, I guess I am around for the long haul. I am really sorry to have caused 
your demise. The boss really hates to see that happen, especially to new managers. Mea 
culpa. -- Bonzai

Stress, me and the rest of the Shrubs are laughing and celebrating. Guess why? -- 
Yucca

Yuffie Kisaragi, well fought. you showed me you are my better. Can I call you Uncle? 
-- Dogwood (not in bloom due to dormancy for the winter)

Diebuprofen, I think I was downright lucky. -- Azalea

Rikku, carry capacity. Assur often covers the general formula in some of his 
spotlights. I will wait for him to answer this one. -- Rose Of Sharon
P.S. Or you could read a few back-newsletters and you will find it.

Fallen World Manager, the codes for weapons are listed in your C.I.C. package. The 
equipment codes are rather simply;

     ALE leather armor               L leather cap 
     APL padded leather              S steel cap   
     ARM ring mail                   H helm        
     ASM scale mail                  F full helm   
     ACM chain mail
     APM plate mail
     APA plate armor

I hope this helps. -- Rose Of Sharon

     They're all in the rulebook, as well. -- Ed

Old and New Duelers -- No matter what incarnation of my original Milchamah stable 
strides out upon the Noblish Island sands, the common denominator seems to be more 
losses than wins! -- Hammer, mgr of the current 1-9 Milchamah Return after two turns 
of training

Pappy Blue Ribs -- Enjoy Your View from the Top! -- Hammer and his Milchamah Return 
stable

PS: We Salute Your Graduation! Let us know where your manager transfers your stable!

Rose of Sharon aka Shrub Master -- Not much P-ad talking for me other than my stable 
seems to be headed in the opposite direction of yours! -- Hammer

All -- When I get the necessary free time in my real life I want to sit back and 
absorb the Spots from Consortium, Final Fantasy and Jorja that I look forward to 
reading from last cycle! -- Hammer

Roger Moore -- Puffer Fish Peril sends her regards from Arena 75 over at Jade 
Mountain! -- Hammer

Rose of Sharon -- So our second turn of training resulted in an 0-5 and the death of 
one of my favorite warriors! -- Hammer, mgr Milchamah Return

Pressure -- Obviously no pressure from me! Salute! -- Meginnaw Flaming

Barry Nelson -- A short-straw drawing may be what determines a possible Blood Feud for 
your killing Madkawraw Reborn last cycle! Salute! -- Hammer, mgr of Milchamah Return

Raw Red Onion -- Your challenge! My loss! Salute! -- Mahatsawd Reborn

Rikku -- Welcome to the arena! Use those Skills you learned with wisdom! Salute! -- 
Maggephah Priest

Vincent V. -- Welcome to the arena! That was a rough three-minute loss! Salute! -- 
Makkeh Different

New Players -- My stable seems to be the newly anointed punching bag! Feel free to 
take your best shots! -- Hammer, Duel 2 Sponsor, mgr of Milchamah Return

One of the easiest and most used encumbrance formulas is

     ST + (lesser of ST/CN) -- 6 = Weight you can carry without penalty.

There are various other versions of this (mostly similar).  It isn't perfect, but it 
is a good guideline.

What happens when you over-encumber a warrior?  Most notably:
 - Endurance penalties (Your warrior will get tired faster)
 - Dodge penalties (Your warrior's ability to dodge an attack definitely goes down)
 - Initiative penalties (Your warrior will not attack as often)

Notable skill that isn't impacted much if at all:
 - Parry (A warrior that carries too much can still parry if not as well, then almost

   as well as a warrior that isn't over encumbered)
The most extreme version of this I've ever run is DELAYS, with 3 strength. He seems to 
be parrying just fine.

I use the formula above, but I am sure that with 4 strength, you can carry
DA + ALE + L (4 points of weight), but the formula says 4+4-6 = 2 points of weight
without penalties

manager of Fallen Worlds -- You need to get the secret codes.  You're not using the 
right codes for those techniques.  Unfortunately, managers don't share those in a 
handy book like the C.I.C. package.  And they aren't called secret for no reason. 
People keep those codes as secret as they can so others can't use them, but they can.  
I won't give up my super secret SyFy channel code, which immediately puts up a low 
budget movie on the big screen, captivating my opponent for the duration! -- Assur  

Scurvicious -- We therefore commit your Body to the Deep, to be turned into 
Corruption, looking for the resurrection of your Body (when the Sea shall give up her 
dead,) and the life of the world to come, through our Tournament gods; who at their 
coming shall change your vile Body, that it may be whole and Fight again, according to 
their mighty working, whereby they are able to subdue all things to themselves. -- 
signed Lind Pringle, Captain, Navigator, Naturalist, Gladiatorial Stablekeeper

Bonsai -- You, my little treelette, are a Scurvy knave. -- Capt. Pringle

                                  LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS

DOGWOOD was devastated by DIEBUPROFEN in a 1 minute mismatched Challenge fight.
ISHAM was demolished by OSRIC in a 1 minute one-sided Challenge melee.
SAVVI was overpowered by AMOXIKILLIN in a 1 minute mismatched Challenge duel.
SLATER bested FURIOUS INHALER in a 4 minute Challenge fight.
MAKKEH DIFFERENT was defeated by 24-7 SUPPORT in a 2 minute Challenge match.
MEGINNAW FLAMING viciously subdued LEMON J in a 8 minute gruesome Challenge brawl.
AZALEA defeated BLEYS in a exciting 1 minute struggle.
YUCCA unbelievably bested STRESS in a 2 minute gory competition.
DY-QUIL was viciously subdued by RAW RED ONION in a action packed 1 minute melee.
INTERRUPTIONS lost to DALT in a 1 minute fight.
BLADDERWRACK won victory over BONSAI in a popular 6 minute duel.
DIERDRE was overpowered by PRESSURE in a 1 minute uneven match.
JULIAN savagely defeated DELAYS in a exciting 8 minute brutal fight.
BENNAKYL was viciously subdued by MAGGEPHAH PRIEST in a 3 minute conflict.
MAHATSAWD REBORN demolished CREPE MYRTLE in a 1 minute one-sided brawl.
MADKAWRAW ARISES overcame CONVICTED THIEF in a 6 minute novice's conflict.

                                    BATTLE REPORT

             MOST POPULAR                        RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS     
|FIGHTING STYLE               FIGHTS        FIGHTING STYLE     W -   L -  K   PERCENT|
|BASHING ATTACK                   7         TOTAL PARRY       30 -  20 -  0      60  |
|TOTAL PARRY                      5         AIMED BLOW        27 -  19 -  2      59  |
|STRIKING ATTACK                  4         SLASHING ATTACK   22 -  16 -  2      58  |
|AIMED BLOW                       3         LUNGING ATTACK    32 -  24 -  1      57  |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE                    3         PARRY-LUNGE       13 -  10 -  1      57  |
|LUNGING ATTACK                   3         PARRY-STRIKE       5 -   4 -  0      56  |
|PARRY-LUNGE                      2         STRIKING ATTACK   27 -  32 -  3      46  |
|WALL OF STEEL                    2         BASHING ATTACK    37 -  46 -  2      45  |
|PARRY-STRIKE                     1         WALL OF STEEL     16 -  26 -  1      38  |
|SLASHING ATTACK                  1         PARRY-RIPOSTE     11 -  20 -  0      35  |

Turn 597 was great if you     Not so great if you used      The fighting styles of the
used the fighting styles:     the fighting styles:          top eleven warriors are:

TOTAL PARRY        4 -  1     PARRY-STRIKE       0 -  1         3  STRIKING ATTACK
AIMED BLOW         2 -  1     LUNGING ATTACK     0 -  3         2  BASHING ATTACK 
PARRY-RIPOSTE      2 -  1     SLASHING ATTACK    0 -  1         2  TOTAL PARRY    
BASHING ATTACK     4 -  3                                       1  AIMED BLOW     
PARRY-LUNGE        1 -  1                                       1  PARRY-RIPOSTE  
STRIKING ATTACK    2 -  2                                       1  PARRY-LUNGE    
WALL OF STEEL      1 -  1                                       1  LUNGING ATTACK 

                               TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE

FIGHTING STYLE   WARRIOR                     W   L  K PNTS TEAM NAME                  
BASHING ATTACK   AZALEA 10708                5   0  0   46 SHRUBS (1829)
TOTAL PARRY      YUCCA 10710                 4   1  0   46 SHRUBS (1829)
AIMED BLOW       DIEBUPROFEN 10676           6   2  0   41 PHARMANOMICON (1823)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.

The overall popularity leader is FURIOUS INHALER 10674.  The most popular warrior 
this turn was JULIAN 10683.  The ten other most popular fighters were BONSAI 10709, 
MAGGEPHAH PRIEST 10727, FURIOUS INHALER 10674, 24-7 SUPPORT 10700, MADKAWRAW ARISES 
10755, AZALEA 10708, STRESS 10696, BENNAKYL 10673, DIEBUPROFEN 10676, and RAW RED 
ONION 10680.

The least popular fighter this week was MEGINNAW FLAMING 10728.  The other ten least 
popular fighters were CREPE MYRTLE 10756, DELAYS 10718, DIERDRE 10685, BLADDERWRACK 
10681, LEMON J 10677, SLATER 10688, SAVVI 10690, ISHAM 10689, INTERRUPTIONS 10698, 
and YUCCA 10710.

                  MAIL-IN TOURNEY LXXIV

INITIATES TOURNEY                      W  L  K         TEAM NAME            
ROGER MOORE 10657 (2-4-0)              2  3  0         SHAKN-NOT-STIRD      
DANIEL CRAIG 10659 (1-5-0)             0  3  0         SHAKN-NOT-STIRD      
YUFFIE KISARAGI 10653 (4-2-0)          0  3  0         FINAL FANTASY        

APPRENTICES TOURNEY                    W  L  K         TEAM NAME            
SLATER 10688 (3-0-0)                   3  3  0         THE LEGACIES         
SISSON 10691 (0-3-0)                   1  3  0         THE LEGACIES         
DIERDRE 10685 (2-2-1)                  0  3  0         LORDS OF CHAOS!      
ISHAM 10689 (1-2-0)                    0  3  0         THE LEGACIES         
SAVVI 10690 (0-3-0)                    0  3  0         THE LEGACIES         
ZAIUS 10687 (1-2-0)                    0  3  0         THE LEGACIES         

ROOKIES TOURNEY                        W  L  K         TEAM NAME            
VINCENT V. 10720 (0-0-0)               2  3  0         FINAL FANTASY        
AERITH G. 10719 (0-0-0)                1  3  0         FINAL FANTASY        

DEAD APPRENTICES TOURNEY               W  L  K         TEAM NAME            
TIFA LOCKHART 10652 (0-1-0)            5  3  0         FINAL FANTASY