DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 12/02/2022 Duedate: 12/15/2022
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM 93 TURN 623
This Week's Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
SNEEZER MCGEEZER
AUDACIOUS STABLE (1856)
(93-10873) [8-0-1,84]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
POSITION IS EMPTY SNEEZER MCGEEZER
AUDACIOUS STABLE (1856)
(93-10873) [8-0-1,84]
Popularity Leader This Week's Favorite
SNEEZER MCGEEZER PLAYER
AUDACIOUS STABLE (1856) BB BACHELOR (1860)
(93-10873) [8-0-1,84] (93-10896) [2-0-0,25]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
BB BACHELOR (1860)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. BB BACHELOR (1860) 50
2. AUDACIOUS STABLE (1856) 22 RAGE (388)
Unchartered Team
BB BACHELOR (1860)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 1*BB BACHELOR (1860) 10 0 1 100. 1/ 3*BB BACHELOR (1860) 10 0 1
2/ 0*AUDACIOUS STABLE (1856) 24 16 1 60.0 2/ 0*AUDACIOUS STABLE (1856) 9 6 1
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
BASHING BASHERS!!!!
Is Purely Discrimination!
Are Bashers misunderstood? Well, The Consortium Family certainly thinks so;
therefore, let's examine some facts and a few opinions. (Note: so does Hammer, so you
may wish to go back to Noblish Isle DM93 newsletter, turn 581 -"Another Look At
Bashers"-, and reread his comments.)
First, what, typically, is said about bashers? Sadly, I have heard these
statements all within the past month. "Don't make bashers." "Bashers are the worst
style." "Bashers are a no no, since they have a lousy weapon selection," "Anyone who
makes a basher ought to be shot!" "Bashers are worthless; they can't TC." "Bashers
don't win much." Enough of those discriminatory words, I say! Let's get to some facts.
Can bashers TC? Well, certainly; and they do. Bashers have TC'd 26 times. (Yes, 26 and not zero as some imply.)
Once in the 1980's.
Fourteen times in the 1990's.
Four times in the 2000's.
Six times in the 2010's.
Once already in the 2020's.
Only two bashers (Piledriver and Baffle) have TC'd twice, hence twenty-four
different bashers have TC'd. Six of those TC's were as immortal warriors (One in
Primus) and twenty were as mortals in classes Rookie through Champions.
The Consortium knows first-hand that bashers can TC, as:
Daniel Webster -- October 1998 Mailer
Skulk -- October 2003 Mailer
Bismuth Bender -- July 2011 Face-To-Face (Milwaukee)
have all done it. The Consortium is believed to be the first and only three-time
basher TCer. What did those three particular Consortium warriors have in common? None
were significantly blessed; all were godlingish designs; all had 17 Will (WT/WL =
21/17, 17/17, 21/17); and all were run by The Consortium Conglomerate.
Well, then, sure, those three TCs were sort-of godlings, but "normal" bashers
cannot win, can they?. Do they? Listen to this! The Consortium is running 22 non-
sandbagger bashers in current arenas and their overall arena record is 121-57-8, w/l =
.680. (They also have an overall tournament record of 46-33-1 = .582, with 3
TVs.)Let's randomly select half of those and examine the facts. (note: data as of June
1, 2021.)
The roll of the die selected the following 11, which had a total arena record of
56-23-6 = .709. These are the designs:
13-5-15-15-15-14-7 13-4-11-21-15-9-11
21-6-14-5-9-12-7 15-5-13-11-21-12-7
17-8-11-15-9-9-11 15-4-9-15-21-9-11
13-10-14-15-17-4-11 18-4-9-17-17-12-7
13-8-12-7-21-16-7 14-4-11-13-21-8-13
12-10-11-15-17-12-7
What do these arena warriors have in common? All have high ST. (12+) Most have
high WL. (although 9 works.) None are small. (all 9+ SZ.) Most have low CN. (ranging
from 4 to 10.)(The "average" of these warriors would make an approximate 14-6-12-15-
17-11-9 fighter.) So, bashers CAN fight and bashers CAN win!
A lot is said about "lousy basher weapon selection". And, in a way, that might be
so. One reason for that feeling may be that bashers are not suited for the scimitar
(SC), the weapon many (or most) consider the best weapon in the game. After all,
bashers don't slice and dice, they whack! And bashers are suited for the two weapons
most feel are the worst in the game -- the war flail (WF), commonly called the
"whiffle", and the morning star (MS). Here are the basher weapons:
GA, GS, HL, MA, ML, MS, QS, WF, WH, and the 3 shields.
Some are hard to "qualify" for, as they require 15+ ST. (GS, HL, ML) But when they
hit, they hit hard! That strength need can be a disadvantage for many designs, taking
away points more desirable elsewhere in design. Two, as mentioned above, are
considered the worst in the game. (WF, MS) That leaves few to choose from, and all but
one "require" 13 ST to use suitably. But, The Consortium is a big user of the
quarterstaff (QS), war hammer (WH), and great axe (GA), and not at all adverse to the
mace (MA). He has also been known to often use, and win with, those three regularly on
styles other than bashers:
QS on strikers (ST)
WH on strikers (ST), total parries (TP) and pikers. (PS)
GA on wall-of-steels (WS)and slashers (SL)
So, maybe those weapons are not quite so bad as some managers think.
Which brings us back to the title of this spotlight "Bashing Bashers". Bashers do
get bashed and discriminated against. And perhaps, as was outlined above, that is one
large pile of bashed cow patties. Enjoy bashers -- they get it done.
-- Snake Charmer a Consortium affiliated Manager (November 2022)
***---------*---------*---------*---------**---------*---------*---------*---------***
PARRY RIPOSTES, ASSUR'S WAY
The Consortium and I recently reviewed all the articles found at the bottom of the
newsletter. We were both unhappy with them and so I've decided to start a new set of
articles which I believe are more up to date with today's game. Note that EVERY
ARTICLE on how to make a certain style is loaded with biases and opinions. There is no
absolute right and wrong. But I'll tell you how I've found success with various
styles. My first undertaking is the Parry Riposte style.
My focus is how to make a hybrid Parry Riposte. (Scum Rippers are also very viable
and I just TC'd the Freshman tourney with a classic scum ripper). Ever since I started
playing I've liked the Parry Riposte style. But I wasn't very good with them until I
learned what they 'really' need. I don't run an excess of them, but I believe I have
a good understanding of them.
Interestingly, my minimums for a good parry riposte are fairly easy to describe.
GOOD or better damage and enough Parry/Carry/Hit Points. Sure there are successful
parry rips with less than good damage. But I don't run them (anymore). Parry Ripostes
don't try to hold the initiative in general, so you need to make your attacks count.
You also have a lower skill base than almost every other style. Even more reason to
make your opportunities count with more damage. Sure I'd love to only run great damage
and better, but that is too many points to invest in strength and size.
'Enough' Parry, Carry and Hit Points is harder to quantify. Note that strength
gives parry and carry (and damage), so strength is a good place to invest points on
your ripper. The breakpoints for strength that are relevant:
9: SS/SC
11: LO/LS
15: An additional parry skill
17: An additional parry skill
21: Two additional parry skills
It is strongly believed that the wording of your encumbrance statement is only a
marker. So more strength gives more encumbrance, irrespective of your statement. The
encumbrance formula that many people use for how much weight you can carry is (STR +
(LESSER OF STR/CON) -- 6). Note that STR is VERY important in this formula.
Regardless, the idea of the parry/carry/hp theme is that you need to withstand your
opponent's attack. I like to have at least two of the three on the higher side. Parry
comes from STR/WIL/DFT and inverse of SIZ (3 size gives many parry skills, 21 takes
away). Hit points come from CON, SIZ, and WIL (mostly CON).
There are many ways to make PR's, but this can get you started:
STR: 9+
CON: more is better, hit points are a primary need
SIZ: 14- (14 or less, you start losing parry at 15)
WIT: any really, but more is better (see weapons, though)
WIL: 7+ (lots of variation here. skill breakpoints: 7, 15, 17, 21)
SPD: less is better (gives more points where you want them)
DFT: 11+ (Some people say much higher, I am in the 11 deftness camp)
As you see, I have very few stat requirements on my PR's. I'm all about the 4 things I
mentioned above.
Weapons: SC & LO are the staple weapons. In case you don't remember or know, the
stat requirements are: SC (9 str/11 wit/11 dft) and LO (11 str/13 wit/11 dft). SS & LS
work for low wit Rippers. EP and SH are the only other weapons they are well suited
too (and they have NO marginally suited weapons).
Armor: I've never had or tried to run a dodge based Ripper. They start with the
lowest defense skill in the game, so parry is where it is generally at. So, armor is
not a bad thing at all. Remember I mentioned you want carry ability?!? It is to wear
armor! Most of my Rippers wear ASM or APM/APA. I will change it up and use ACM at
times. And if my carry is low, I suffer with APL or ARM.
Strategy: Do NOT, usually, carry/wear too much armor and weapons. The penalties
for over-encumbering your warrior are harsh, get worse and worse, and are not directly
shown anywhere in the fight.
As far as rhythm, I highly, highly recommend running on your warrior's favorite
rhythm. Unfortunately, you don't find those values until after your warrior graduates.
So you have to guess. I usually start a warrior at 4-6 at the beginning of his career
and then experiment until I find where he fights best. Rippers require more TLC that
most styles. Send a striker out with 10-10 and he runs great. Some rippers do
fantastic at 4-6 and some do not. You have to find what works for yours. If you aren't
willing to tinker and optimize, they are not a great style to run and expect success
with.
Examples: (these are the last 4 PR's I've graduated -- at time of writing):
She is a parry-riposte with ST=17 CN=15 SZ=10 WT=6 WL=21 SP=4 DF=11. (This is my
Freshman TC. Really just a scum, but also meets my 'minimums')
He is a parry-riposte with ST=10 CN=11 SZ=7 WT=7 WL=21 SP=7 DF=21. (This is the
warrior that made me say good damage is a requirement. With two strength trains,
he still had normal damage. His basic career was mediocre because of it. He is
training for a future bust in Freshmen and those 21's look very, very pretty now
-- update when this warrior 'busted' in Freshmen class, he was the runner up,
losing to another busting warrior, an Aimed Blow)
He is a parry-riposte with ST=21 CN=8 SZ=11 WT=21 WL=7 SP=3 DF=13. (I love this
design and would use it again without hesitation)
He is a parry-riposte with ST=12 CN=12 SZ=4 WT=15 WL=21 SP=7 DF=13. (An earlier
design. I wouldn't make this a ripper today. He did start with normal damage which
made him great. But the chance (~40%) for little damage is too much for me to risk
this setup on a PR in the future -- especially when I want GOOD damage on PR's)
AND not my warrior, but... 17-14-4-17-7-8-17 PR (This is Daydream Believer, the best Parry Riposte ever to grace the sands. The numbers alone are not what made DD great, but it is a fine example of how to make a PR. DDB TC'd Rookies, Adepts, Champions
Advantages of the Parry Riposte Style: Very common to get LO & SC faves, rhythms
are usually very runnable. Their natural learning is perfect. Good Rippers can be made
from otherwise low value setups (think of low will setups)
Disadvantages of the Parry Riposte Style: Low skill base. You usually can't just
give them a single strategy at the beginning and let them run forever on it. Often
misunderstood.
Best Matchups: Rippers were intended to be the anti-striker style. That said,
strikers are so good that while it is a good matchup, it isn't an auto-win by any
means. Some Parry Ripostes are also good scum hunters.
Worst Matchups: Aimed Blows are the bane to almost every hybrid and defensive
style in the game. Parry Ripostes are not exception to this. Slashers are also pretty
tough, but nothing like Aimed Blows.
DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
Notes from the arena champ.
Hammer has been so [Sneeze] busy with Real Life [Sneeze] studies and the demands of
[Sneeze] reading and [Sneeze] writing that he has been losing track of the [Sneeze]
due dates for this [Sneeze] and other [Sneeze] arenas!
I did [Sneeze] succeed in [Sneeze] killing that [Sneeze] Snake In The Grass to
[Sneeze] seize the Noblish Island [Sneeze] Throne!
Veteran Mercenary almost [Sneeze] died in the [Sneeze] Infirmary from our recent
[Sneeze] battle!
I [Sneeze] hope the [Sneeze] New Year brings some more [Sneeze] New Players to our
[Sneeze] arena!
Please [Sneeze] pass me a [Sneeze] hankie!
Enjoying the [Sneeze] View from the [Sneeze] Top!
-- Sneezer McGeezer of Audacious Stable
SPY REPORT
Good day, friends and fiends, welcome to your friendly neighborhood spyreport.
I doubt NOBLISH ISLAND will ever be the same. It seems the training can make the
difference, as AUDACIOUS STABLE is pushed out of top team by BB BACHELOR, who came
from 3rd with a 5-0-1 this turn. And let's see, NOSE DRIPPING FOE fought DANGEROUS
CRIMINAL and gained 18 points and contributed to AUDACIOUS STABLE's 3-2-0. BURPING
BELLFLOWER has lost to PLAYER, falling 8 points, while helping make AUDACIOUS STABLE
a 3-2-0 turn. Defending hers title for another turn, SNEEZER MCGEEZER kept NOBLISH
ISLAND's warrior, VETERAN MERCENARY, from claiming the throne. Can someone confirm a
rumor for me? I hear the top team makes their losing fighters do dishes at The
Swinging Aardvark until they win. Maybe?
Oriental wise man once say, 'Hiding behind shields prevents proper sun tanning.'
Inscrutable, but true.
A coward dies a thousand deaths, a brave man only once. Wise men know this to
be true. Is it really true that NOBLISH ISLAND has more dishwashers per capita that
fighters? Just thought I'd ask...
Thought for the day, a new sword shines bright, but the notched sword sings the
sweetest. It's been nice chatting with you, until we meet again, keep your swords
sharp and your hammers heavy. Until the sun next rises and my pen sets to paper--
Alarond the Scribe
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
SNEEZER MCGEEZER 10873 8 0 1 84 AUDACIOUS STABLE (1856)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
NOSE DRIPPING FOE 10874 5 3 0 42 AUDACIOUS STABLE (1856)
SNORTER MCWORTER 10872 4 4 0 35 AUDACIOUS STABLE (1856)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
PARTY 10899 2 0 0 30 BB BACHELOR (1860)
PLAYER 10896 2 0 0 25 BB BACHELOR (1860)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
UNCLEAN 10898 2 0 0 22 BB BACHELOR (1860)
ONE NIGHT STAND 10895 2 0 0 20 BB BACHELOR (1860)
NO CARES 10897 2 0 1 19 BB BACHELOR (1860)
WHEEZER MCGEEZER 10876 4 4 0 16 AUDACIOUS STABLE (1856)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
BURPING BELLFLOWER 10875 3 5 0 14 AUDACIOUS STABLE (1856)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
PERSISTANT BEGGA 0 0 0 NO CARES 10897 623 NONE
PERSONAL ADS
Great spotlights, Assur. Interesting idea to work with the "not as common" styles! --
The Consortium
A great finish for Snake In The Grass at 3-0. (Two new RUs did not make it in in time
10-6-10-17-15-9-17 PL and 17-16-17-5-16-5-8). Well done Snake charmer. --The
Consortium
All hail Sneezer McGeezer (and Hammer) a mighty Duelmaster. -- The Consortium
New team not in hand, hence no new Consortium Team on Noblish Island this round. --
The Consortium
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
SNEEZER MCGEEZER bested VETERAN MERCENARY in a 6 minute Title fight.
NOSE DRIPPING FOE bested DANGEROUS CRIMINAL in a 1 minute brutal duel.
SNORTER MCWORTER handily defeated CULT MEMBER in a 1 minute one-sided match.
BURPING BELLFLOWER slimly lost to PLAYER in a crowd pleasing 3 minute gory brawl.
WHEEZER MCGEEZER was luckily beaten by ONE NIGHT STAND in a 7 minute bloody match.
PARTY devastated EMBEZZLING SCRIBE in a 1 minute one-sided duel.
NO CARES viciously butchered PERSISTANT BEGGAR in a 1 minute bloody amateur's match.
UNCLEAN overpowered MORDANT DESERTER in a action packed 1 minute uneven melee.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|TOTAL PARRY 3 LUNGING ATTACK 9 - 1 - 0 90 |
|AIMED BLOW 1 AIMED BLOW 14 - 6 - 0 70 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 1 TOTAL PARRY 28 - 13 - 1 68 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 1 PARRY-STRIKE 8 - 4 - 0 67 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 SLASHING ATTACK 5 - 4 - 1 56 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 1 STRIKING ATTACK 11 - 13 - 0 46 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 1 BASHING ATTACK 16 - 20 - 1 44 |
|BASHING ATTACK 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 6 - 8 - 0 43 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 0 PARRY-LUNGE 5 - 7 - 0 42 |
|WALL OF STEEL 0 WALL OF STEEL 0 - 1 - 0 0 |
Turn 623 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 LUNGING ATTACK 0 - 0 3 TOTAL PARRY
PARRY-LUNGE 1 - 0 BASHING ATTACK 0 - 1 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE
PARRY-STRIKE 1 - 0 WALL OF STEEL 0 - 0 1 STRIKING ATTACK
PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 - 0 1 PARRY-STRIKE
SLASHING ATTACK 1 - 0 1 PARRY-LUNGE
STRIKING ATTACK 1 - 0 1 AIMED BLOW
TOTAL PARRY 2 - 1 1 SLASHING ATTACK
1 BASHING ATTACK
1 WALL OF STEEL
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
TOTAL PARRY SNEEZER MCGEEZER 10873 8 0 1 84 AUDACIOUS STABLE (1856)
PARRY-RIPOSTE NOSE DRIPPING FOE 10874 5 3 0 42 AUDACIOUS STABLE (1856)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is SNEEZER MCGEEZER 10873. The most popular warrior
this turn was PLAYER 10896. The ten other most popular fighters were BURPING
BELLFLOWER 10875, WHEEZER MCGEEZER 10876, SNEEZER MCGEEZER 10873, NO CARES 10897,
UNCLEAN 10898, NOSE DRIPPING FOE 10874, SNORTER MCWORTER 10872, PARTY 10899, ONE
NIGHT STAND 10895, and 0.
The least popular fighter this week was ONE NIGHT STAND 10895. The other ten least
popular fighters were PARTY 10899, SNORTER MCWORTER 10872, NOSE DRIPPING FOE 10874,
UNCLEAN 10898, NO CARES 10897, SNEEZER MCGEEZER 10873, WHEEZER MCGEEZER 10876,
BURPING BELLFLOWER 10875, PLAYER 10896, and 0.
WINTER FACE-TO-FACE IN TEMPE!
We hope you will join us at our winter FTF in Tempe, AZ, January 13-15, 2023! It will
be held at our usual Embassy Suites Hotel in Tempe, Arizona (480-897-7444). Room
rates are $184.00 per night, 1-2 occupancy, which includes full cooked breakfast,
complimentary manager's reception, free airport shuttle, free parking and free high
speed internet. There's a fitness center, jacuzzi, and pool. The rooms are blocked--
the code is "Duelmasters2023."
The official block cutoff is December 12 so make your reservations ASAP!
The hotel reservation site is: http://tinyurl.com/FF68inTempe
Please note that doubles are limited. As always, if the block is full, please make
your reservation the best you can (book a king, and/or book at normal rates) and let
us know and we'll work with the sales office to get them to correct your reservation.
We look forward to seeing you in January! -- RSI