There are handbooks around that will guide you in becoming the hottest player Duelmasters has ever seen... if you're prepared to work at it. But what if you don't want to be hot, but only pleasantly warm, have a good time, and not fret and stew over maximizing the potential of every roll-up you receive? What if spending months in the Dark Arena searching for the perfect roll-up sounds boring? What if the "Perfect Warrior" is not for you, and you have no intention of dominating Gateway? What if such handbooks as the Enchiridion represent "more than you ever wanted to know" about the inner workings and minute tunings of the game?
This article is for you....
You have a new roll-up sheet in front of you; it doesn't matter whether it's a new team or only one replacement. How do you design the warrior(s) for best present enjoyment? First, don't send anyone straight to the Dark Arena. Okay, do if you like to read Dark Arena fights, but not otherwise. Give every roll-up, regardless of "Perfect Warrior" potential or lack thereof, your best design efforts and a chance to show his stuff. Some supposed duds will surprise you.
A few simple rules for basic warrior design and strategy:
1) Aim at achieving an odd number in your key stats, 15 is good, 17 is better, except in unusual cases (DF for aimed blows), 21 is too much of a good thing.
2) Wit and Will are the key stats for any warrior except a freak experiment. Deftness and Strength are second, Speed and Constitution are third.
3) Offensive styles (Basher, Lunger, Slasher, Striker) and Total Parries are easier to run and easier to win with than the finesse styles (Aimed Blows, Parry-anythings, Walls of Steel). Yes, the finesse styles can be fun and devastating, but don't START there. Start with the easier styles and work up to finesse. Watch out for stereotypes. Big, dumb, clumsy bashers do not generally do well. Fast, brainy lungers with low CN and WL burn out early in the first minute and also tend to die easily. A medium good roll-up will do well at any of the offensive styles.
4) Pick your arena with some care, as different arenas favor and reward different styles of play and different tones in the personals.
Generally speaking, arenas of the Andorian and Lirith Kai regions will frown on down-challenges and deliberate killing, and hostile "trash-talking" personals will not be appreciated. On the whole, these Andorian and Adantri arenas are the more sociable arenas and will tend to have more personals and more role-playing. (There are, of course, exceptions.) Players in the Andorian and Lirith Kai arenas will tend to be helpful to a newcomer.
Arenas of the Delarquan region will accept more aggressive styles in play and in personals, more down-challenging, and more killing... BUT you can expect to draw a quick and hard response in kind. Generally these arenas are not as friendly as the Andorians, and they are much less likely to help out a newcomer.
The arenas of the Free Blades region vary more among themselves than those of the other regions but generally tend to fall in between the Andorian and Delarquan extremes.
5) When arming your warrior, check the Weapon/Style/Stat Suitability chart below, probably THE most useful chart for a beginner. It sorts the weapons by style, listing only those that are favored by each style, and gives the minimum stats (in ST, SZ, WT, and DF) to use any particular weapon. Note which weapons your warrior is physically able to use. Arm him with something he can use and that is favored by his style, and GIVE HIM A BACK-UP WEAPON, even if it's only a dagger. Do not be misled by real-world logic, by the way: bashers are not well-suited to using the fists as weapons! (If you are going to use the same weapon against all armor weights, it isn't necessary to make three categories on your strategy sheet, and it annoys the inputter.)
In fact, you might want to consult the chart below before picking a style for your new warrior. It is not a good idea to make a warrior into, say, a basher, if he is unable to use well any of the basher's weapons of choice. (I've done this by not paying attention, and I have ALWAYS regretted it afterward.) For example, I just got a replacement who is 8-10-20-9-12-4-7. If I make it 9-10-20-15-17-4-9, then I should NOT make it a Basher, because the poor goop couldn't use any bashing weapon well. If I go with this set of numbers, he should probably be a Lunger using a short spear, or a Striker using a hatchet. But if I drop WT to 13 and raise ST to 11, he could use a broadsword and might make a Slasher; equally, if I drop WT to 13 and raise DF to 11, instead, he could use a scimitar and make a Slasher.... Choices, choices....
6) Put armor on the warrior before sending him out to fight. Armor saves lives. Total Parries can take the heaviest armors, as they generally don't move around a lot. Offensives can run faster with no armor or leather armor, but that doesn't give them much protection. If you're worried about their survival, put them in mid-weight armor; I favor ringmail for this, but scalemail and chainmail are also options. Always put something on their heads! A blow to the head can be especially deadly, so give them protection there--at least a steel cap, a helm for choice, a full helm if the warrior is a Total Parry.
7) Train skills, unless/until you're sure this is going to be a throw-away, short-term warrior.
8) Challenge warriors above your warrior, and/or those with more fights, for the best chance to learn skills. Challenge warriors below your warrior to improve your chances of winning and to provoke maximum hostility from other managers. Repeated challenges to the same warrior, when there are other targets available, will also provoke hostility.
9) Avoid teams with high kill percentages and teams that regularly down-challenge or repeat-challenge.
10) Don't run a warrior 10-10-10 unless you like to see him go berserk and then collapse half way through the first minute. Yes, the pure offensives should run fast, but drop either Activity Level or Kill Desire or both by a few points if your warrior doesn't have a good or better endurance. If endurance is not mentioned on the warrior's overview, then it is "normal" or "average," and 10-10-10 will probably burn him out early in the fight. If endurance is poor, don't even think of it. (Yes, I can hear all you number crunchers out there rising up to point out that there are exceptions. I admit the exceptions, but these are general guidelines for the average beginner. Exceptions belong in a different article.) Generally speaking, Total Parries should run slowly.
11) Be wary of using tactics. Sometimes they help, sometimes they hinder, and they're tricky. Even when a tactic gives some clear benefit, remember that it comes with a built-in danger in that it commits the warrior to that attitude during the minute it is used. A defensive tactic will tend to hinder offense, offensive tactics will reduce the warrior's defense. Do not use both an offensive and a defensive tactic in the same minute.
12) Fill out your strategy sheet clearly and completely to avoid antagonizing the inputter! Don't make her guess what you want your warrior to do.
13) Write personal ads to take part in the player-player interaction. This is a significant part of the fun of the game. If you want other managers to help you learn, write =friendly= personals! Surprising how some people miss this obvious point, but the obnoxious managers are likely to have a hard time getting help.
14) Fill out the front part of the Warrior Census Form. Picking a warrior's race can make him a more clearly realized character and one that it is more fun to write personals for. Filling out the warrior sayings can make reading the fights more amusing. Fill out the back of the form only if you feel like it, as NOTHING on the back, not even the character stats, has any effect on the fights. The back of the form is all role-playing information and, at this time, will only be used if/when your warrior appears in a spotlight written by a staff writer. When/if the extension of the Duelmasters system for which the back of the form was originally intended is completed, you will have another chance to fill out this stuff.
Weapons, Styles, Minimum Stats required for use
The weapons best-suited to each style are listed under that style. If a weapon is not listed under that style, then it is not well-suited to use by that style. Regardless of style, however, the stats required to use a weapon are the same.
This chart was composed with information found in the Enchiridion, and I thank Pagan for making it readily available.
Aimed Blow nine weapons Slasher eight weapons Dagger ST - SZ - WT 7 DF 7 Battleaxe ST 15 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 9 Epee ST 7 SZ - WT 15 DF 15 Broadsword ST 11 SZ - WT 9 DF 7 FiST - presumably any Epee ST 7 SZ - WT 15 DF 15 Longspear ST 11 SZ 9 WT 5 DF 9 Greataxe ST 13 SZ 5 WT 9 DF 11 Longsword ST 11 SZ - WT 13 DF 11 Hatchet ST 5 SZ - WT 3 DF 7 Quarterstaff ST 11 SZ 9 WT 11 DF 11 Longsword ST 11 SZ - WT 13 DF 11 Scimitar ST 9 SZ - WT 11 DF 11 Scimitar ST 9 SZ - WT 11 DF 11 Shortspear ST 9 SZ - WT 7 DF 7 Shortsword ST 5 SZ - WT 11 DF 3 Shortsword ST 5 SZ - WT 11 DF 3 Striker Note that the strikers can Basher eleven weapons use every weapon plus the small shield Greataxe ST 13 SZ 5 WT 9 DF 11 effectively. This is the only style that Greatsword ST 15 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 11 has so broad a selection. Twenty-one Halberd ST 17 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 9 weapons. Large shield ST 11 SZ 7 WT 5 DF 5 Battleaxe ST 15 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 9 Mace ST 13 SZ - WT 3 DF 5 Broadsword ST 11 SZ - WT 9 DF 7 Maul ST 15 SZ 9 WT 5 DF 7 Dagger ST - SZ - WT 7 DF 7 Medium shield ST 9 SZ - WT 5 DF 5 Epee ST 7 SZ - WT 15 DF 15 Morningstar ST 13 SZ - WT 7 DF 13 FiST - presumably any Quarterstaff ST 11 SZ 9 WT 11 DF 11 Greataxe ST 13 SZ 5 WT 9 DF 11 Warflail ST 11 SZ - WT 7 DF 5 Greatsword ST 15 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 11 Warhammer ST 13 SZ - WT 5 DF 7 Halberd ST 17 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 9 Hatchet ST 5 SZ - WT 3 DF 7 Lunger five weapons Longspear ST 11 SZ 9 WT 5 DF 9 Epee ST 7 SZ - WT 15 DF 15 Longsword ST 11 SZ - WT 13 DF 11 Longspear ST 11 SZ 9 WT 5 DF 9 Mace ST 13 SZ - WT 3 DF 5 Longsword ST 11 SZ - WT 13 DF 11 Maul ST 15 SZ 9 WT 5 DF 7 Shortspear ST 9 SZ - WT 7 DF 7 Morningstar ST 13 SZ - WT 7 DF 13 Shortsword ST 5 SZ - WT 11 DF 3 Quarterstaff ST 11 SZ 9 WT 11 DF 11 Scimitar ST 9 SZ - WT 11 DF 11 Parry-Lunger six weapons Shortspear ST 9 SZ - WT 7 DF 7 Epee ST 7 SZ - WT 15 DF 15 Shortsword ST 5 SZ - WT 11 DF 3 Longspear ST 11 SZ 9 WT 5 DF 9 Small shield ST 5 SZ - WT 5 DF 5 Longsword ST 11 SZ - WT 13 DF 11 Warflail ST 11 SZ - WT 7 DF 5 Scimitar ST 9 SZ - WT 11 DF 11 Warhammer ST 13 SZ - WT 5 DF 7 Shortspear ST 9 SZ - WT 7 DF 7 Shortsword ST 5 SZ - WT 11 DF 3 Total Parry twelve weapons Parry-Riposte six weapons Battleaxe ST 15 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 9 Epee ST 7 SZ - WT 15 DF 15 Broadsword ST 11 SZ - WT 9 DF 7 Longspear ST 11 SZ 9 WT 5 DF 9 Epee ST 7 SZ - WT 15 DF 15 Longsword ST 11 SZ - WT 13 DF 11 Greatsword ST 15 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 11 Scimitar ST 9 SZ - WT 11 DF 11 Large shield ST 11 SZ 7 WT 5 DF 5 Shortspear ST 9 SZ - WT 7 DF 7 Longspear ST 11 SZ 9 WT 5 DF 9 Shortsword ST 5 SZ - WT 11 DF 3 Longsword ST 11 SZ - WT 13 DF 11 Medium shield ST 9 SZ - WT 5 DF 5 Parry-Striker eleven weapons Quarterstaff ST 11 SZ 9 WT 11 DF 11 Battleaxe ST 15 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 9 Scimitar ST 9 SZ - WT 11 DF 11 Broadsword ST 11 SZ - WT 9 DF 7 Shortsword ST 5 SZ - WT 11 DF 3 Epee ST 7 SZ - WT 15 DF 15 Small shield ST 5 SZ - WT 5 DF 5 Greatsword ST 15 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 11 Longsword ST 11 SZ - WT 13 DF 11 Wall of Steel eight weapons Quarterstaff ST 11 SZ 9 WT 11 DF 11 Battleaxe ST 15 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 9 Scimitar ST 9 SZ - WT 11 DF 11 Broadsword ST 11 SZ - WT 9 DF 7 Shortspear ST 9 SZ - WT 7 DF 7 Greataxe ST 13 SZ 5 WT 9 DF 11 Shortsword ST 5 SZ - WT 11 DF 3 Greatsword ST 15 SZ 9 WT 9 DF 11 Small shield ST 5 SZ - WT 5 DF 5 Morningstar ST 13 SZ - WT 7 DF 13 Warhammer ST 13 SZ - WT 5 DF 7 Quarterstaff ST 11 SZ 9 WT 11 DF 11 Scimitar ST 9 SZ - WT 11 DF 11 Warflail ST 11 SZ - WT 7 DF 5Jorja
The Middle Way.