DUEL 2 NEWSLETTER
Date : 02/07/2025 Duedate: 02/20/2025
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM 93 TURN 680
This Week's Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
LADY SCARLET
COLORITES (1938)
(93-11352) [5-2-1,66]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
POSITION IS EMPTY LADY SCARLET
COLORITES (1938)
(93-11352) [5-2-1,66]
Popularity Leader This Week's Favorite
LADY SCARLET LADY SCARLET
COLORITES (1938) COLORITES (1938)
(93-11352) [5-2-1,66] (93-11352) [5-2-1,66]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
BASH BROS COUNTRY (1939)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. BASH BROS COUNTRY (1939) 27
2. COLORITES (1938) 18 ONLY HUMANS (147)
3. SKIBIDI RIZZLERS (1941) 13 Unchartered Team
4. REMDISIR (1777) 1
BASH BROS COUNTRY (1939)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 2*BASH BROS COUNTRY (1939) 25 4 0 86.2 1/ 1*BASH BROS COUNTRY (1939) 12 3 0
2/ 1*SKIBIDI RIZZLERS (1941) 6 3 0 66.7 2/ 2*COLORITES (1938) 9 6 0
3/ 3*COLORITES (1938) 18 17 3 51.4 3/ 4*SKIBIDI RIZZLERS (1941) 6 3 0
4- 0*JJKIER (1935) 0 8 0 0.0 4- 0*JJKIER (1935) 0 4 0
5/ 0*REMDISIR (1777) 0 1 0 0.0 5/ 0*REMDISIR (1777) 0 1 0
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
D2 -- DUELMASTERS
The battle axe swings with awesome cutting power!
The Grim Lord is hit in the chest.
It is an awesome blow!
He sinks slowly to the ground.
Gambit has learned a riposte action and achieved advanced expert in riposte.
Black Lung will fight at Champions in the next tournament.
Veteran Mercenary is dangerously stunned and cannot keep fighting!
It is a proud Day for Lady Warriors as Colestah has ascended the Duelmaster's Throne.
Red was butchered by Longbow in a one minute mismatched challenge!
D2, the play-by-mail (not play-by-computer, nor play-through-internet) game of
Duelmasters, is just plain fun. It is so good that there have been three published
books written about it! It must be great, then! Do you want to have the fun and
pleasures that hundreds of other managers before you have experienced? Can't blame
you! I, personally, have been enjoying Duelmasters-to-D2 for 40 years. Perhaps this
article will assist or simplify your introduction to this game and speed up your
enjoyment process. It goes something like this.....
* ACQUIRE A D2 ROLL UP team sheet from RSI. (Reality Simulations Inc., P.O. Box
22400, Tempe AZ 85285-2400, ph. 4809677979) The first sheet/team is free.
Subsequent five-warrior teams cost $5. (Same prices are charged by RSI as they
did 30+ years ago!) Later, after your introductory 10 turns in the Noblish
Island (DM93) arena, you can transfer your starting team to another arena, or
you may find you want to start up new team/s in other arenas, or both.
Actually, you can start new teams any time, even while going through your
learning process in DM93; but you may want to "learn the ropes" first.
* FILL OUT THE ROLL UPS and send the sheet to RSI. Other than the normal personal
information, the most important things to decide are: Team name, Manager Name,
and 5 individual warrior designs. Let's discuss each of those briefly. Team
name and manager name can be anything you like that fits you. (RSI will edit
inappropriate naming.) They can be gladiator driven, silly ideas, great plays
on words, or whatever. The warrior names can be closely tied to the team name,
or not. My very first team was: Bulldogs, manager Kennelworth, and names like:
Tiger Lily, Sir Smythe, Wild Wayne, and Flash, etc. A team name I admire in the
game is Azure Clouds, manager Slugbait, warrior names like: Black Bile, Violent
Orange, Blue Note....
We could spend hours and hours on warrior designs, (Where to place the 14 points on
the fixed 70 points and what style to choose?) and there are many articles available
examining design, so I will offer only a few basic comments:
* Offensive styles are easier to learn for a newbie. (Or anyone, for that matter)
* Gender does not matter at all in the fight process.
* Usually, fast & quick or brawny & strong rule the day. I said usually.
* WT (wit) and WL (will) are the most important stats. (But DF for aimed-blows is
very important.)
* There are reasons to design to odd numbers. (Exclude CN from that statement.)
Read newsletters, especially past DM93 newsletters, for regularly posted design
reviews.
You have received your 5 warrior profiles back from RSI. Time to fill out DUEL II
STRATEGY FORMS and send them in to RSI. "Goodness!" you say; "I wish I had a lot more
information about weapons and strategies and what the warrior profile means, and....
Here are a list of places and methods for getting additional info:
* "Put on your newbie outfit." Ask RSI, or better yet, diplo the teachers/coaches
in Noblish Island (DM93), the "starter's arena" and ask for information
provided there. If you are already in Noblish Island, ask RSI to make sure you
get the free CIC or "fact sheets".
* "Go electronic." The best information in the game is available at
reality.com/dm, or terrablood.com, or Assur's site or even try chatzy.com as
DMers chat there from appx 9AM to 2AM EST. and they definitely seem to welcome
inexperienced questions.
So, back to the strategy sheets. One for each warrior you plan to fight. Write
legibly! You would be very disappointed to have a code inputted improperly because
your scribbles were not so discernible. The basic stuff like warrior name and ID, or
game # and account # don't need discussion. But weapon selection, strategy, armor and
challenging do.
Weapon choice is your chance to select a best weapon against the opponent's probable
armor. Bigger weapons are probably needed against heavy armor. Some weapons do
especially well against certain armor types. (Hmmm; that information mentioned earlier
would help.) The most common weapon arrangements are a single primary weapon and a
smaller backup primary for offensive types, and a primary/secondary (secondary could
be a shield) and zero to two backups for defensives/finesse warriors. That, of course,
begs the question of which styles are offensive? Generally, basher (BA), lunger (LU),
slasher (SL), and striker (ST) are offensive. Generally, parry-lunger (PL), parry-
riposte (PR), parry-strikers (PS), and total parry (TP) are defensive. Wall of steel
(WS) and aimed blow (AB) are generally finesse warriors. But, really, anything goes,
as you will find defensive bashers and offensive total parries and other mutants in
this fun game.
Strategy is more difficult to decide. Offensives usually start "hot and heavy" and
then slow down, as they will wear down/tire due to weight being carried and a high
activity level. Defensives tend to run moderately, but current arena defensive
warriors can be found fighting anywhere from "hot and heavy" to very slow. The
desperation strategy is important, because if your warrior is nearing defeat or
exhaustion, you may want to try something different in a last-ditch effort to pull out
the win.
Armor is really a matter of preference, but like every other choice in the game, there
are trade-offs. Heavy armor, while providing more protection, can slow down and wear
down warriors. Naked or light armor may be less restricting and faster but offers
little protection. It is easy to think, "I need lots of armor.", but over encumbering
a warrior greatly impacts (diminishes) his fighting ability.
Training is simple. The most common training is "skills", but stats can be and are
trained also. In general the amount of skills learned is based on your WT (the higher
the better), but it is also impacted by the knowledge of the warriors you fight. (And
other things) Stat training is very highly dependent on WL, as the odds of getting a
first stat train of a stat type are 5% times the WL. (E.g. a WL of 15 = 5%x15 or 75%
chance.) There can be a luck roll impact also as is common almost everything that
occurs in Duel 2. Attempting to get a 2nd stat raise in a certain stat is halved.
(E.g. a WL of 15 = 5%x15x 0.5 = 37.5%)
Challenging and avoiding are very strategic components of the game. There are quite a
few managers who do not challenge or avoid or both. You can use that to your best
advantage. Challenge warriors (the warrior ID number) and avoid teams. (The team ID
number.) Several points about challenging/avoiding):
Challenging and avoiding do not work until after the warrior has fought his/her first
fight in the arena and is listed in the newsletter. Challenge warriors or styles you
think you can beat, or who will teach you well, or to attempt to advance in the
rankings.
Avoid those teams who have warriors that can probably beat you, or who are likely to
challenge you.
Remember: challenge warrior ID numbers (not names) and avoid team numbers (not names)
Some arenas, usually Andorian, frown on down-challenging. (Usually defined as
challenging someone with fewer recognition points that oneself.) Beware of the arena
environment, history, and politics.
You have the option to use an alternate "special strategy" either (or both) when you
challenge someone, or when someone challenges you. You can use this alternate to
prepare a specific strategy for that challenge you just made, or surprising an
opponent who will likely challenge or blood feud you. To use these alternatives, "x"
the proper box or boxes and fill out the strategy info on the back of the strategy
form. This alternative strategy will not be used unless the conditions you selected
occur.
That was easy, wasn't it!? After sending in your strategy sheets, (in plenty of time
for the due date--or last minute via fax; no internet submitting allowed) the computer
utilizes everyone's' inputs and the fights proceed. A few days after the arena run
date, the actual fights and arena newsletter will arrive in your mailbox. (Actually
the newsletter can be viewed on line three days after the fights.) Before submitting
the new warrior strategies for the next round of fights, there is much a manager
can/should examine and review. Here are generic things that this old-time manager
evaluates:
* Have I collected/recorded all the information I want from the fight so I can
access it quickly? (The Noblish Consortium manager and his Consortium cronies
record this for every fight: opponent's name, stable, arena and ID number,
size, handedness, record, style, armor, and weapons plus his warrior's train
results, armor, weapons, swing info (criticals/swings/extra value hits), W or
L, how many minutes, recognition points, and political point status- if any.
Also recorded are who, if anyone challenged. This is manually recorded on a
sheet with my warrior's name, ID, and size, handedness, plus style. (Feel free
to computerze it all.)
* Did each warrior fight as I expected from the strategy? Do I need to adjust or
change any strategies?
* Did any warrior act over encumbered or tire faster than I thought? Do I need to
adjust strategies, armor, or weapons?
* Did each warrior fight well with the weapon? (e.g. hit when he swung and had
critical hits--which are strongly stated weapon hit statements compared to the
norm) Do I need to change weapon selections?
* Did another warrior out jump me when I did not expect it? Do I need to adjust
strategies or weapons?
* Did the warriors learn what I expected and learn well? (e.g. earn lots of
skills) If not, what can I do about it? (Switch to learning stats/skills?
Challenge a very experienced warrior?)
* Do I know anything about the arena warriors that I can challenge? (Have I and
my friends accumulated style and other information on opponents?) Should I
challenge or take the luck of the draw? (Remember: challenge warrior #'s.)
* Likewise, is there someone within range I just do not want to fight? (A warrior
that has beaten me before? A warrior with lots more experience than me? A team
that has my number? Should I avoid the team with that warrior? (Remember: avoid
team #'s)
* Have I written some personal ads or a spotlight to add to the enjoyment of the
arena?
Then it is time to turn in those strategy sheets again!
Duel 2 is a game of gladiators, comprised of knowledge, strategy, and a little luck.
Above all, it is fun. See you on the sands!
-- Colonel Mustard
via The Consortium (aka Wayne Smith)
Note:
RSI has something special with Duelmasters that few if any other PBMs can offer. Twice
per year, for many tears, voluntary Face-To-Face Tournaments are held, opening up the
competition from all arenas of D2 play. Managers from near and far gather for a fun-
filled and very busy week-end of competition. The winter version is held in RSI home
town Tempe, AZ (Phoenix) while the summer location varies in location east of the
Mississippi. (Recent ones in Minneapolis, Cincinnati, New Orleans) Great competition
and a fine chance to meet other managers and the RSI staff.
Version
1/25WFS
DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
Notes from the arena champ.
What?! Me again as Duelmistress? What is this? I LOST to NPC M. CHARDINEE? And
earned the Title? Well, I do have the most recognition points of anyone. Hah! Take
that Homeless Bash Brothers! Me and my teammates are sad, sad, sad, sadly. I feel
sorry for our Manager, Colonel Mustard, Master Of The Clue. We Colorites, however are
clueless.
-- Lady Scarlet, DMII
SPY REPORT
Busy, busy, busy, lots of things happening in NOBLISH ISLAND this turn, and
let's start with a look at some of the teams. And let's see, DRINKING fought MISS
PINK and gained 8 points and contributed to BASH BROS COUNTRY's 5-0-0. MISS PINK has
lost to DRINKING, falling 6 points, while helping make COLORITES a 3-2-0 turn. The
attempts to dethrone the Duelmaster have failed, and LADY SCARLET remains NOBLISH
ISLAND's top warrior for another turn. Tell me, is nothing sacred? I have heard
from unimpeachable sources that The Warty Toad uses trolls in their stew. Talk about
gristle!
He who challenges well, fights well. He who avoids without cause, shall lose
for good reasons. My mama told me that one. I also notice that the COLORITES stable
was the most avoided team this turn. Come on NOBLISH ISLAND, what are you afraid of?
And avoiding COLORITES more than any other team we find BASH BROS COUNTRY. NOBLISH
ISLAND, are we going to accept, or respect this sort of thing? The most challenged
warrior this turn was COLORITES' warrior MISS PINK. More fighters challenged her
than challenged the Duelmaster!
A coward dies a thousand deaths, a brave man only once. Wise men know this to
be true. A brave warrior does not carry a red shield, he has nothing to cover or
hide when the fight is over. Consider well.
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
LADY SCARLET 11352 5 2 1 66 COLORITES (1938)
CHALLENGER ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
PICKUP TRUCK 11358 6 0 0 57 BASH BROS COUNTRY (1939)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
DRAWL 11355 6 0 0 54 BASH BROS COUNTRY (1939)
LAME 11357 6 0 0 37 BASH BROS COUNTRY (1939)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
MR BRASS 11353 4 3 1 31 COLORITES (1938)
DOCTOR BROWN 11351 3 4 1 25 COLORITES (1938)
BIGGIE BEAR 11369 2 0 0 24 SKIBIDI RIZZLERS (1941)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
DRINKING 11359 5 1 0 21 BASH BROS COUNTRY (1939)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
BABY BIGGER BACK 11372 2 0 0 21 SKIBIDI RIZZLERS (1941)
SENIORITA YELLOW 11367 2 1 0 19 COLORITES (1938)
MISS PINK 11349 3 4 0 13 COLORITES (1938)
AUTO TUNE 11365 2 2 0 10 BASH BROS COUNTRY (1939)
WHACK-A-MOLEY 11368 1 1 0 10 SKIBIDI RIZZLERS (1941)
BLOODY MEWER 11371 1 1 0 8 SKIBIDI RIZZLERS (1941)
-BASHER 11338 0 2 0 2 JJKIER (1935)
-BLOWER 11334 0 2 0 2 JJKIER (1935)
-SHIELDER 11336 0 2 0 2 JJKIER (1935)
DRAKE 10392 0 1 0 1 REMDISIR (1777)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
SKIBIDI 11383 0 1 0 SKIBIDI RIZZLER 1941 SHEWISH GIANT 680 NONE
PERSONAL ADS
Hey, great to see the Jjkier and Skibidi teams here on the isle. Join in the fun and
pound my Colorites silly. Everyone else seems to! -- Colonel Mustard
If you haven't already, read the previous arenas; there is a lot of DM info available
for you. Ask questions. We will answer. -- Colonel Mustard and all The Consortium
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
SKIBIDI was butchered by SHEWISH GIANT in a 1 minute bloody Dark Arena fight.
LADY SCARLET viciously subdued CONVICTED ASSASSIN in a 1 minute Title battle.
PICKUP TRUCK overpowered CAPTURED ORC in a 1 minute bloody mismatched duel.
DRAWL overpowered DOCTOR BROWN in a 1 minute one-sided fight.
LAME unbelievably bested FRATSFA SLAVE in a dull 10 minute gory brawl.
MISS PINK was bested by DRINKING in a 2 minute match.
BABY BIGGER BACK devastated MORDANT DESERTER in a 1 minute one-sided competition.
MR BRASS handily defeated BLOODY MEWER in a 1 minute uneven melee.
AUTO TUNE won victory over DRAKE in a 1 minute gruesome novice's duel.
SENIORITA YELLOW won victory over WHACK-A-MOLEY in a exciting 1 minute novice's fight.
BIGGIE BEAR handily defeated MORDANT DESERTER in a 1 minute one-sided bout.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|STRIKING ATTACK 3 PARRY-LUNGE 1 - 0 - 0 100 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 3 TOTAL PARRY 17 - 4 - 0 81 |
|BASHING ATTACK 3 PARRY-RIPOSTE 2 - 1 - 0 67 |
|TOTAL PARRY 2 LUNGING ATTACK 21 - 12 - 1 64 |
|AIMED BLOW 2 STRIKING ATTACK 21 - 13 - 2 62 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 SLASHING ATTACK 15 - 14 - 2 52 |
|LUNGING ATTACK 1 BASHING ATTACK 19 - 18 - 2 51 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 1 WALL OF STEEL 6 - 8 - 1 43 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 0 AIMED BLOW 5 - 7 - 0 42 |
|WALL OF STEEL 0 PARRY-STRIKE 1 - 6 - 0 14 |
Turn 680 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:
PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 - 0 PARRY-LUNGE 0 - 0 4 STRIKING ATTACK
LUNGING ATTACK 1 - 0 PARRY-STRIKE 0 - 1 3 LUNGING ATTACK
STRIKING ATTACK 3 - 0 BASHING ATTACK 0 - 3 2 SLASHING ATTACK
TOTAL PARRY 2 - 0 WALL OF STEEL 0 - 0 1 AIMED BLOW
SLASHING ATTACK 2 - 1 1 BASHING ATTACK
AIMED BLOW 1 - 1
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
STRIKING ATTACK LADY SCARLET 11352 5 2 1 66 COLORITES (1938)
LUNGING ATTACK PICKUP TRUCK 11358 6 0 0 57 BASH BROS COUNTRY (1939)
TOTAL PARRY LAME 11357 6 0 0 37 BASH BROS COUNTRY (1939)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is LADY SCARLET 11352. The most popular warrior this
turn was LADY SCARLET 11352. The ten other most popular fighters were SENIORITA
YELLOW 11367, MISS PINK 11349, AUTO TUNE 11365, PICKUP TRUCK 11358, DRAWL 11355, BABY
BIGGER BACK 11372, MR BRASS 11353, DRINKING 11359, WHACK-A-MOLEY 11368, and BIGGIE
BEAR 11369.
The least popular fighter this week was LAME 11357. The other ten least popular
fighters were DRAKE 10392, BLOODY MEWER 11371, DOCTOR BROWN 11351, SKIBIDI 11383,
BIGGIE BEAR 11369, WHACK-A-MOLEY 11368, DRINKING 11359, MR BRASS 11353, BABY BIGGER
BACK 11372, and DRAWL 11355.