Duel II - Terrablood's PBM Archives

Top 10 Things to Do to Have a Better FTF!

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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!

NEON’S THOUGHTS ON TOURNAMENT PRIZES

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Tournament prizes are of two varieties. First is the type that gives a warrior a temporary benefit. The second, more powerful type, is the type that permanently alter a warrior’s long-term potential. A sub-category of this second type are the ‘freak’ prizes, i.e. those prizes that allow the creation of a warrior that could not naturally exist.

Some tournament prizes are designed to only give a temporary benefit to a warrior. Immortality is such a prize. Once the warrior reaches ADM, the prize is null and void. The ten skill boost to learned skills is another such prize. It puts the warrior ahead of his peers, but in the long run, it does not change what the warrior will eventually become. The 87-point warrior is another example. Along with the stat-swap prize and DYO, they just give you an extraordinarily good starting warrior, but do not change what the warrior can eventually become. Resurrection is just limited immortality. The five train prize is also a temporary one since those trains will come eventually anyway.

The more powerful class of tournament prizes change the long-term potential of a warrior. The most famous example of this was the prize that added 5 skills to a warrior’s base ratings. That problem was fixed in Gateway, but it still exists in Primus. Another example is the style-swap prize. This prize allows the most skilled fighting styles to get rid of their only weakness, endurance burn. Another long-term prize is the favorites prize. This prize allows a warrior to gain a favorite weapon, rhythm, or tactics that he could not naturally get. All of these prizes allow the creation of ‘freak’ warriors. A freak is a warrior that could not naturally exist. An example would be a wall of steel fighter with very high/very high for a favorite rhythm, or a lunger getting a scimitar favorite (although there are a few running that got this favorite naturally in the old days). Another long-term altering prize is the size prize. This allows a warrior to increase his damage class rating beyond what would have been possible for his previous size. However, this does not create a freak warrior since any warrior grown is simply gaining what a warrior of the new size would naturally have. For instance, a warrior grown from size 6 to size 7 would lose a defense and parry skill, but would also gain awesome damage capability. He is still the equivalent of any warrior born at size 7. The freaks are those warriors that are shrunk, because RSI allows them to keep the damage ratings attained at the larger size, then gain the skills of the lower size. (Example: A size 7 warrior gets Devastating damage, then is shrunk to size 4: He gets to keep Devastating damage while gaining two more parry and defense skills, thus creating a warrior that could not naturally exist, a freak.)

What of the worth of the various tourney prizes? As always, worth is in the coinpurse of the buyer, but in general, some prizes are worth more than others. The most desired prizes (and thus the most valuable) are those that change the long-term potential of a warrior. The favorites prize falls into this category, with the latest offering retailing for around $700 per potion (and there’s three potions per prize!). The bonus potions sold for about $600 per potion. If the style swap were offered again, I’m sure it would command a greater sum. The size potions can go for a couple hundred apiece, and again there are three potions per prize. The stat train prize is a lot less valuable since the trains will come anyway, and it should go for $50-$75 per potion (but there’s five potions to this one). The limited use prizes (resurrection, immortality, swap, 87-point, etc.) will generally sell for around $250 per prize.

Some prizes are more valuable not for what they can do for a warrior’s long term potential but rather for what they can do for a manager’s short term potential to TC. The 10 skill prize was such a prize, as is the 5 stat train prize. Both give a temporary boost to a warrior, but that temporary boost can give a huge advantage over the warrior’s peers. These prizes become even more valuable for TC purposes when RSI fails to put proper restrictions on them. If a winner of multiple 10 skill prizes is allowed to put 20 skills on a single warrior, it gives that warrior a gigantic advantage in an apprentice or initiate tournament.

The real key to tournament prizes, in my opinion, is using them to generate more tournament prizes. Tournament prizes allow you to maintain a stronger stable of warriors than your competitors, and thus give you increased odds to garner more prizes. The best use of tournament prizes is using them in tandem with each other. Resurrection can be used to get back that really blessed, great physicals warrior that got unlucky enough to die, and then immortality can ensure he gets his chance to TC Freshmen, ADM, or Eligibles. The 10 skill prize can be used to give your apprentice a boost, but if it’s used on a favorites modified warrior, he can be a TC contender for adepts and champions as well. Or, as I did, you can take a very developed warrior, give him favorites to make him better, then give him growth potions to put him over the top. The two prizes I’ve used on Psycho Scientist have generated three TC’s in return (so far). One key to discovering these clever uses of TC prizes is to think about where the prizes can be used beyond the obvious first choices. One example is the 5 stat train prize. The most obvious use for that prize is on a warrior in ADM that is blowing out to try to TC either Freshmen, ADM, or Eligibles. Taking that 20 wit (trained from 17) to 25 instantly gives a huge boost to your TC contender. But, what if-what if you won two prizes, 10 potions? How good could a double 21 apprentice be if you took away his only weakness, lack of con? That was what struck me prior to the tourney where RSI offered that prize. Fortunately for me, I happened to win three tournaments and got 15 potions. The timing was such that I also was able to resurrect a dead clone to use the potions on. He was the perfect warrior for this purpose: a double 21 lunger that started with 23 attack skills, 81 overall. He also had riposte as a favorite learn, perfect for a high con lunger. All you have to do is miss once, then he sends his gigantic attack back at you. The rest is Cosmic Hammer history. I had successfully gotten on the TC merry-go-round where TC prizes generate more TC prizes.

Winning tournaments never gets old, and neither does trying to think up combinations of tournament prize use. It varies depending on what RSI offers when, but there are always some interesting and powerful combinations to be had, whatever the prizes involved.

THE UN-SCUM

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     The type of TP I make will often win fights without ever getting hit!  The fights 
are exciting to read, full of dodges and ripostes, and if you've never seen a TP 
outjump a Basher, make an offensive TP.

ST: 7-13   All you really need is normal damage!  11 is perfect, for carrying capacity 
and weapon selection.  Good damage is nice to have, but if it looks like your rollup 
will get good or great, he's probably better off as a WS, LU or BA.

CN: 9-16   Again, all you need is normal.  We're making a finesse substyle, and the 
points are badly needed on WT, WL and DF.  Just make sure he can take a hit or two.  
Don't add any points here on the rollup, but go ahead and raise it later if you think 
he needs it.  Endurance is not a priority.

SZ: 3-9    A single digit is important for dodging and activity levels.  I will go as 
high as 10, but any bigger and you can't dodge well enough.  Small size also helps 
parry and defense, as well as getting a good activity and elusive statement on the 
overview.  Plus, you need the points below.

WT: 15, 17 or 21 only!  This is the biggie, he'll learn like crazy!  I know what 
you're saying, "my 11 WT SCUM learns 3 skills a fight!"  Yeah, but your SCUM's skill 
base will be so low, when he's maxxed out in skills, my off. TP will be at the same 
level of expertise by his 10th fight!  For any style, 90% of the skills are in WT, WL 
and DF, and that's where the 14 points must go.

WL: 13-21  As with any fighter, more is better.  However, you can get by with normal 
endurance, believe it or not!  This TP will wear moderate armor, and can run active 
for 6-7 minutes with normal endurance.  That's long enough for all but a few 
opponents.  Raise WL on the rollup to 17 or 21 if you can, but if 13 or 15 is all he 
can have, he'll be okay.

SP: 5-9    This is a touchy area, and can make or break your TP.  I like to use 7, 8 
or 9.  If you use 5 or 6, he'd better be small, and have a 17 or 21 WT.  OR, a CN that 
will allow him to take a lot of damage.  If he's too big, dumb and slow then he'll get 
"slow and inactive" on the overview, and that is too scummy for my TP.  You MUST have 
normal or better activity.  SP also helps with your riposte, crucial to the off. TP.

DF: 11-17  Second in importance, behind WT.  Parry, Riposte, Defense and Attack are 
your mainstays, and they're all enhanced by a high DF.  Try to get normal coordination 
(SP+DF=21) if possible.

     Here are some examples of good off. TPs, all are real fighters;

     11        10         8        11         7        11        10
     14        12        15         9        15        13        12
      7         4         7         6         8         7        10
     17        15        15        17        21        17        17
     17        21        17        21        13        17        13
      5         7         9         9         7         8         8
     13        15        13        11        13        11        13

     Now, how to fight them, you ask?  Every one of them seems to like to run 
differently, I've seen some tee off at 2-7-5, some do better at 4-4-5, some 2-3-2, 
even those who go 3-3-5 first min, then go ballistic in the second (10-10-6).  Also, 
some run 7-7-7!  You just have to play around with the numbers, 'til you find what 
works best.  Here's a general strategy I usually start with:

     4    5    6    7    4    3    10   Armor: I use ARM/H most of the time,
     7    6    5    4    4    2    10   but guys like examples #1 and 2 
     5    5    5    5    5    5     6   would be better off in ACM/F.  If
                                        facing a LU or SL, you can wear 
     RA ------------------------>  HE   APA/F (yes, even with normal endur-
     AM ------------------------>  HE   ance!), 'cause the LU or SL is going
     -    -    -    -    -    -     -   to drop in min. 2, more than likely.
     S    S    -    -    -    -     D

Weapons:  Any sword and shield you're suited to, as well as the Quarterstaff and the 
Longspear.  Vs. heavy armor, use a BS two-handed.

Tactics:  Parry, dodge, and especially vs. strikers, responsiveness!  Resp. will drive 
other managers nuts, prompting them to say, "How'd you do that?"  My favorite tactic 
for the Un-Scum.

Matchups:  Every striker in the arena should be on your hit-list.  Other good 
challenges are PS, WS, PR, BA.  Avoid lungers and ABs like the plague!

     So, there you have it.  If you'd rather have a TP who's as elusive as a La-Z-Boy 
than one who sidesteps more blows than he parries, then don't follow my advice.  But, 
if you're ready to have fun fights with TPs, and watch their popularity rise (except 
vs. scum) every match, then that's what I offer you.
     Brought to you by Buri of the G.A.P.P.D.A., MGR. Aesier (3, 104), Swords of 
Sergio (4, 104), S.O.S. (59), and way too many others.  Fell free to diplo me, for 
praise, ridicule, or just for the halibut.

Stimpy’s Thoughts on Total Parries

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                                      part II

     Well, when we last spoke I gave you a rundown on I feel TPs should be designed.  
Now I will give you my ideas on how to run them.
     First, you need to consider what type of warrior you now have.  A total parry is 
what its name suggests.  Total defense.  The idea around a TP is to concentrate on 
defense first and utmost.  Only when the situation arises will the TP decide to 
attack.  With this in mind NEVER run a TP with an offensive effort (OE) above 5.  In 
doing so you have just told your TP to do what they weren't designed to do.  Go 
offensive.  If you want to run your TP above 5, you should have made an offensive 
styled warrior, NOT a TP.  By using a high OE, you cause your TP to ignore defense and 
go offense.  This results in numerous "flailing" and "wild" attacks.  So don't do it.
     While running your TP, you may find that he tends to really turn on the offense 
often.  That is typical, typical of a warrior who favors initiative skills.  This does 
not mean that you should boost your OE.  What is happening is that one of your 
warrior's favorite learns is initiative.  So he/she will be naturally adept in 
initiative.  And remember that initiative is the skill that allows you to continuously 
make attacks on your opponent.  Since your TP decided to attack, your opponent should 
be relatively worn down.  So it will be hard for your opponent to steal that 
initiative back from you.  Hence the reason that your TP looks like an offensive 
killer.  But that's good.  It means that you have a very dangerous warrior on your 
hands.  High endurance burning styles, look out!
     I know, I know!!!  There are managers out there still that believe in the 
offensive TP and suggest using higher OE.  That's all fine and dandy.  Let those 
managers do just that.  I personally guarantee that if you run your TP with a low OE 
like the style was designed to do, you'll win fights.  Experiment with unorthodox 
strategies when you get a better hang of the game.
     Activity level (AL) is the variable in TP strategies.  I would definitely begin 
running a TP with a moderate/low AL.  Try a 3 at first.  After a few fights you'll see 
if your TP likes to dodge more or parry more.  It should be quite obvious; your TP 
will learn more skills in his "favorite" area.  Chances are, though, if your TP has 
received the statement: "avoiding rather than trading blows," or "relying on his speed 
to stay out of danger," your TP would rather dodge than parry.  And that's just fine.  
Boost your AL to about a 4 or 5.  If you choose to use the dodge tactic in defense, 
use AL up to 7.  Beyond that tends to hurt your warrior more than it helps.
     So why not go with an AL of 7 all the time if your TP likes to dodge more than 
parry, you might ask?  That's simple; your TP may like to dodge more, BUT HE STILL 
PARRIES.  So you'll need to be less active to allow your TP that choice.  With an AL 
of 4-5, your warrior will dodge when it is more advantageous, parry when it isn't.
     Kill desire varies greatly from warrior to warrior.  To be on the safe side, I 
always go low KD with my TPs, until they gain expert in attack.  After that point, I 
may begin to experiment, seeing how my warrior reacts to various KDs.  Generally, if 
your warrior learns attack skills relatively well, then a higher KD won't inhibit them 
at all.  If this is the case, I believe that your warrior is not looking for landing 
several blows to win the match (favoring initiative skills), but is instead looking to 
land a few good blows (favoring attack skills).  In the latter case, a moderate to 
high KD may help.  Keep in mind though that your TP is still defensively oriented.  An 
extremely high KD will cause any warrior to behave like a berserker, and may cause 
your TP to make lots of bad attacks.  With this in mind, stay below 7.
     Now to place it all together...

Minute         1    2    3    4    5    6on  Desp
OE             2 ------------------------ >  varies
AL             2 ------------------------ >    "
KD             2 ------------------------ >    "

or

Minute         1    2    3    4    5    6on  Desp
OE             2 ------------------------ >  varies
AL             4 ------------------------ >    "
KD             2 ------------------------ >    "

     These show my general strategies for parry and dodging oriented warriors, 
respectively.  Seldom do I use any tactics, unless I am making a challenge and wish my 
warrior to behave differently to that challenge (i.e., using the dodge tactic against 
a lunger).  At that point I would refer to the paragraphs in the beginning to 
customize that particular minute to fit the tactic.
     Attack and protect locations are totally up to you.  I like to protect the head 
and body, while attacking the head, arms, and legs.  This protects my vitals, yet can 
allow my warrior to land blows on parts of the body that can cause a warrior to lose a 
fight with the minimum number of hits.
     Desperation is my opposite area.  If I was relying on a low AL in the regular 
minutes, I will boost it in desperation.  While going vice versa if I had a high AL in 
regular minutes.
     Now the one tactic I haven't touched on is the riposte tactic.  Occasionally your 
TP will favor this tactic.  When he does, I like to raise my OE to 3, sometimes 4, and 
the AL to 4.  If I use the riposte tactic, I will use 4-5 OE and a 3-5 AL.  When these 
numbers are any lower, your TP may refrain from attacking in a riposte situation in 
favor of more defense.
     I have found that these strategies work well whether your warrior fights as a 
SCUM or skilled TP.  If you remember from my last article, the difference between the 
schools of thought are the amount of damage the warrior is willing/able to take.
     Well, I hope that this has been informative for the newer players, and the older 
ones, too.  Good luck and see you on the sands.

                                                                 Stimpy

The Swift Scum

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Statistics
Strength: 9-13
Constituion: 17-21
Size: 9-13
Wit: 9-13
Will: 17 or 21
Speed: 3-5
Deftness: 9-11

Comments_advice:

This guy isn’t gonna be pretty or have the slightest finesse in him. This
is scum pure unadulterated scum. This guy will have tons of endurance and
damage capacity thats all.

St: 9-13–9 is all you need for the Medium Sheild, anything more will just
be there to help him get more damage giving ability.

Cn: 17-21– This is scum it NEEDS this high constitution to take the damage.
This will also help his endurance which is as important if not more important.

Sz: 9-13–This helps endurance and damage capacity,I think, but you really
can have any size you want.

Wt: 9-13–This is SCUM! No wit necessary. I still wouldn’t go below 9 though.

Wl: 17 or 21– Scum need that great or awesome endurance. If he doesn’t get
it DA him.

Sp: 3-5–Absolutely no need for speed.

Df: 9-11–That should do.

Run him 2-2-2 Parry or no tactic at all.

Swifty McSwift

TP’s A to Z

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Statistics 
Strength: 9 to 17 
Constitution: 11 to 21 
Size: varies 
Wit: 3 to 21 
Will: 17+ 
Speed: varies 
Deftness: 7 to 17 

Comments_advice: Total Parries A to Z 

When I started to write this article I first tried to put down the range of 
stat #'s that would work effectively for Total Parries and immediately 
realized that it was impossible to present this style without going into 2 
possibly even 3 specific and totally different designs. TP's are probably 
one of the most versatile styles in the game (other than PS). I've listed 
the stat ranges below that I initially came up with, as you can see they're 
extremely broad and need a lot more definition, which will will be covered 
in the following sections. 

ST 9+ 

CN Varies 

SZ Varies 

WT Varies 

WL 17+ 

SP Doesn't matter 

DF 7+ 

Part 1, The Scum 

ST 9+ 

CN 16+ 

SZ any 

WT 3+ 

WL 16+ 

SP 3+? 

DF 7+ 

This is a Style/Design that first looks to the physical side of Duelmaster's 
and then as an afterthought considers the skills aspect of the game. So 
let's take a look and see what's required and what we can do without. 

ST - 9 is the minimum I would ever go, better would be somewhere between 12 
and 17 preferably on the high end. Unlike most designs with high ST with this 
guy we're not going for damage dealing, we want the benefits that a high ST 
gives to encumbrance and endurance, good or better damage is a bonus for this guy. 

CN - I try to get to 16 then I start looking at the other stats, if I have 
some left over at the end I will usually dump them into ST or CN in that 
order. CN helps with carry, hitpoints and endurance, all 3 area's are 
critical to a scum 

SZ - Use what you get, small scum get extra skills but have less hitpoints, 
big scum have more hitpoints do more damage (if they swing) and are easier 
to hit. The benefits are there either way, so for this one size doesn't 
really matter , as long as the rest of the other stats fit. 

WT - As low as you can get it, DO NOT ADD POINTS! to this stat, it is a 
waste for this design! 

WL - 16+, I try to get CN and WL to 16 then take a good look at ST and DF. 
When I build a scum I try to hedge my bet's and design it with burning stats 
in mind. 

SP - Low is better, simply because the points can be used somewhere else to 
better effect. But don't rule out the style simply because your roll-up has 
a 13+ speed, 1 of my best Scum ever has an 18 for speed and is currently 16-4-0 

DF - you can get by with 7, but my favorite all time #'s are 10 or 11. When 
deciding if I want to go above 11 in DF, I always look to see what his rating 
in parry will look like, otherwise I'll go with 10 and burn it. 

Here are a few examples what I run for Scum 

1 - 16-20-8-5-20-5-10, notice how the stats are positioned to burn. This 
guy TV'ed the novices at the last face and then TV'ed in the last mail-in 
and currently looks like this 17-21-8-5-21-5-11, and has an expert in parry. 

2 - 17-21-3-3-17-12-11, TV'ed the rooks at the last face and is currently 
3-0-0 in arena play. I feel that he could have another TV in his future in 
MN. I could have positioned him to burn but I this was one of the sheets that 
I bought at the face and I tried to maximize him for the rooks tournie, I 
trained skills and he received his expert in parry on round 10. Which brings 
up an important point it's better to train skills in tournies, this guy 
averaged 1 skill per fight in tournie, but may have only gotten 1 or 2 
possibly 3 stat trains, do your stat training in the arena not in tournie's, 
it's more efficient!!! 3 - 16-16-6-6-16-16-8, this is the guy that is 
16-4-0, he's currently   18-18-6-7-18-18-9 and I plan on seeing what he 
can do with a BA in his hands in min 3 or 4 just for the fun of it 

Running them is easy, 1-1-1 parry works while you're learning about them. But 
experiment with them and your other warriors, this is crucial to becoming a 
great manager and not just a good one. 

Part 2, The Offensive 

ST 9 to 13 

CN 9 to 13 

SZ 3+ 

WT 17 or 21 

WL 17 or 21 

SP 3+ 

DF 11+ 

This type of TP needs a depends on it's initial skill's and it's ability to 
learn and develope. Generally speaking a warrior that would make a good 
offensive TP will end up as one of the power designs instead. I strongly 
encourage everyone to design and run at least 1 offensive TP, they're a lot 
of fun and can be devastating at the right levels of the game. 

ST - 9 will give you the SC, I would prefer an 11 (larger weapon range and 
helps with physicals) and 13 will help out even more on the physicals. If I 
went with 9 I would be planning on training to 11 in the very near future!!! 

CN - 9 is the definite low end and you better have some kinda offset in the 
other stat's, 11 is better and I would only use 13 if I had a few point 
left over at the end. If you go with 9 expect a couple of extra loss's over 
the course of his career in regular DM and maybe early ADM. 

SZ - Lower is better, 3 or 4 is perfect no more than 9. The lower #'s will 
give you extra skills, the higher #'s will remove vital skill's 

WT - 17 or 21, I would prefer 21. 

WL - 17 or 21, I would prefer 21 WT WL combination but what are the chances. 
I personally feel that a 21/17 is better for this design than a 17/21 because 
I want the skills as fast I possible and a 21/17 gives it to me I will not 
make a 17/17 offensive unless I get lucky and also have a 17 in DF then I 
might think about it. 

SP - Any, most people say that lower is better, but I have mixed feelings 
on the subject and go with my gut in this area and consider the whole 
picture on this design. 

DF - 11 is my break point on most designs/styles the skills you get are 
awesome. I will try to get one of the follow #'s for my OTP's 11, 13, 15 
or 17, but remember to pay attention to the other #'s when adding top this one. 

Normally you would put these guys in ASM/H or higher initially and then 
scale down the armor to ASM or ARM as they learn and develop. Weapons would 
be dependent on stat's but usually SC or BS with an offhand ME and the 
appropriate backup. I tend to run then faster than a scum say 4-5-4 or 
3-4-3 for min's 1 and 2 maybe even min 3 then kick it up another notch 
for the next min, taper it down after that so they can last thru min 7 or 
8 with out passing out. The big thing is to experiment with these guy's, 
every manager I talk to run's their OTP's differently. 

Part 3, The Hybrid 

ST 9+ 

CN 15+ 

SZ Varies 

WT 15+ 

WL 17+ 

SP Varies 

DF 11+ 

This Design relies on the combination of Physical and Skills, it will win 
early in it's career because of it's superior physicals, will learn faster 
than scum, with better overall development 

ST - Once again you can go with a 9, but we're looking for some physical's 
on this guy, not as much as the Scum but some 

CN - 15+ WL works just fine, if you can go higher that's great but don't 
sweat it. Try to balance ST and CN on this guy a 15/15 would be real Kool, 
17/17 would be the ultimate!!! 

SZ - Varies, you're stuck with what you get 

WT - You can go as low as 13 but?, I personally prefer 15, 17 or 21 for 
this design. 

WL - 17+ is a must, you might be able to scrape by with 16 in a pinch 

SP - Any, lower is better on all 3 designs, but don't discount the style 
just because of a higher than norm speed. 

DF - 11 or higher is best, 9 will work in a pinch. Read the DF sections 
under Scum and Offensive's for more info. 

Examples: 

13-16-7-14-16-5-13, 1 TV, Learned over 90 skills in regular, he was 
patterned after a extremely successful tp in 52 named Digger Revell 
(doubt anyone remember's him) 

11-16-11-14-16-5-11, 2 TV's, is now at the low end of the champ's tourney. 
His first TV was co-runner-up with Rascally Rabbit my striker in the 
init's (I foolishly threw the fight to the Rabbit) 

11-17-14-15-17-3-11, 2 TV's, has some burned stat's, this one had a favorite 
learn of ATT, and I lucked into her favorite weapon and #'s early on (QS 
and low/mod). I've never seen a more offensive TP. 

These guys can be run like Scum and/or Offensives depending on the situation, 
which makes them extremely dangerous for your opponents. 

Hopefully I covered everything necessary for you'all to be successful 
manager's of TP's. As you can now see no generic article of the style could 
cover everything and even this one doesn't do it all. The biggest thing I 
want to stress is that you experiment with all styles, some of my most 
effective strat's and design's have come from experiment's. Have fun, see 
you on the sands. Rascally Rabbit, AKA That Animated Obnoxious Rabbit 

Steve Heidloff AKA Rascally Rabbit 

steve.heidloff@worldspan.com

The Perfect Scout

260 views

     We all know them.  We all hate them.  What am I talking about?  Scum.  But there 
is nothing better than a scum to scout at your enemy's weak points.  You can see if 
they'll last long, what weapons they use, where they attack, their style, etc.  And 
you typically don't have to fear a loss.  Picture this.  You see a guy on the listing 
10-5-2.  Well, you don't want to send your best warrior with his perfect 5-0-1 because 
you want to keep winning.  So you send in your scout.  Now you know if you can beat 
him.  The scout will enable you to better pick and choose your fights.  Also if you 
feel like getting back at someone these scum are great.

How to design:

ST13+ can go as low as 11
CN17+
WT5-7 no more
WL17+
SP3 as low as possible
DF7 is perfect

     So a perfect set up would be 15-19-13-7-19-3-8 to start train CN till 21 then WL 
21 WT 8 DX 9 then whatever you want.  This guy is not for ADM he's just for regular DM 
and to be used to scout.  Don't worry about skills until you've 3 raises in everything 
then go to skills.  Oh yeah strategy.

1-1-1-1-1-1-1
1-1-1-1-1-1-1
1-1-1-1-1-1-1
HE---------HE
BD---------BD
Parry-------P

     Get rid of him when they get up high.  Then they've already scouted everything.

                                   Brought to you by Mr. Drake DM#5, Mgr. of Pirates

Asylum’s Colossus Striker

292 views

Statistics
Strength: 15-21
Constitution: variable
Size: 15-21
Wit: 3-21
Will: 9-13
Speed: 3-7
Deftness: 3-21

Comments_advice:

This is the blueprint for a certain type of striker that I’ve been experimenting with lately. I currently have a handful of these warriors, and all are doing very well; their composite record is roughly 25-10-3. This sort of striker relies on two primary things: a) Inflicting damage; b) Accuracy. This naturally entails that they will have weaknesses in the following areas: a) Getting the jump/Decisciveness/Speed; b) either a low Wit or Deft.

Let me go through these four factors, one by one. To get an acceptable damage rating (at least TREMENDOUS), careful gauging and planning of distribution of ST in accordance to SZ is important.

A couple examples:

Warrior #1: ST 21/SZ 16 = Tremendous.

Warrior #2: ST 21/ SZ 15 = Tremendous

Warrior #3: ST 15/SZ 20 = Awesome.

Note that it may be a good idea to NOT max out ST to 21 on the initial rollup; instead, I stop at 19 or 20 – this way if I happen to receive an unlucky damage roll, I’ll have one or two more chances to get that elusive Tremendous or Awesome. The second advantage to this style of striker is accuracy. This is obtained primarily with Deftness. A current striker I manage has ST 21/ DF 21, and is doing very nicely. However, because of the need for lots of points in the areas of ST and SZ, along with DF, the other stats will inevitably suffer. This may mean a low Wit warrior with little long term potential (though note that the high DF will give numerous initial skills).

A good alternative I have found, is to have a high Wit, and low Deft. Strikers of this kind still place blows with efficiency, and tend to have better long term potential. An example is a ST 19/WT 17/DF 5 warrior I manage. Thus, as I have indicated above, there will generally NOT be enough points left over after the heaping of ST and SZ, so either WT or DF must suffer – BUT NOT BOTH! The final, and most crucial, weakness of this style is their inability to strike the first blow against fast offensives, especially fellow strikers.

This is due to the low SP.

Solutions:

a) Try running Resp. in the 1st minute; this works remarkably well (against DECISE using opponents only!), as my strikers amazingly parrying blow after blow, and eventually gain the upper hand in the second minute.

b) Use fast weapons: HA, DA, QS, SS, and perhaps even FI – remember, with their high damage rating, the need for a strong weapon is negated.

However, the high strength also allows the use of the ML or HL against scum opponents.

c) Wear no armor – but make sure you can take a hit or two!

d) Aiming for the HE or RA/LA seems to finish off opponents the fastest.

I’d love to hear of any warriors you’ve run (or intend to run) using this template!

Please email me at: aachow@ucdavis.edu if you wish to correspond, or for questions, etc.

Asylum, mgr. of Traumatophobia (DM 48, 105), Divine Colony (105), Isolation House (24), Murderscene (36), and countless other (inactive) teams.

P.S. This design was inspired and influenced by the “Biff Striker” of the early 90’s; for more information on the Biff Striker, which was more of a long-term design, email me and I’ll see if I can dig up that article for you.

Crimson Strikers

258 views

    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

How to build a Rabbit Striker

275 views

Statistics
Strength: 9+
Constitution: Varies
Size: Varies
Wit: 17, 21
Will: 9
Speed: 9+
Deftness: 11, 15, 17, 21

Comments/advice:

ST: Needs a 9 or better for the SC. Other than that, balance ST and SZ to try to get good or better damage.

CN: Usually 7 or less, if it gets over 13 start looking at PS as a style.

SZ: You’re stuck with what you get, just remember to balance it with ST to get good or better damage!

WT: 17 or 21 do I need to say any more?

WL: 9 is plenty for a Striker. If he’s 13+ I start looking at other styles.

SP: 9 is the minimum, I like to make my strikers either high speed/low deftness or low speed/high deftness. I’ve had good experiences with both.

DF: I prefer 11 or better, but have went lower if I can get 21WT and SP13+, other than that see above.

Another Important area for all styles is the physicals, encumbrance and endurance.

CN: effects Damage taking, encumbrance and endurance.

SZ: effects Damage (taking and giving).

I normally start my Strikers out fast 10-10-?. I usually run decise in min 1 and open in all other min’s and response in desparation. After he has AE in decise drop the min 1 tactic. I manage the Rascally Rabbit probably one of the better known strikers in the last year or so and he always ran open once he had his AE in decise.

Here are a few examples.

1) 11-7-10-21-11-13-11

2) 12-4-7-21-9-10-21

3) 13-8-3-21-11-17-11

#1 is the Rascally Rabbit 4TV’s.

#2 Made it to round 9 at the last face.

#3 Just went 6-0-0 in the Chimlevtal Olympic’s, his problem was that he didn’t start to win until he had a master in ATT because he did very lttle damage (That Physicals thing)

Rascally Rabbit

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