From: itlm013@hamlet.ucdavis.edu (Captain Caveman)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pbm
Subject: Re: DM beginner questions
Date: 8 Jan 93 02:59:48 GMT
Organization: Computing Services, UC Davis

In article <184792@pyramid.pyramid.com> khearn@pyrps5.eng.pyramid.com (Keith Hearn) writes:
>
>Howdy,
>
>   I've just gotten started in Duelmasters and I have a few basic
>questions. I just got my first turn of results back. It wasn't real
>pretty, my fighters went 0-5-0, but at least no one died. I wasn't
>really expecting to do much winning my first time out, so I'm not too
>disappointed.

I don't know if that means you've got the perfect mindset for Duelmasters,
or if you're just used to adversity.  :)  I've seen several teams rebound
for horrible starts (the worst I've seen was one team that went 8-33-1, then
rebounded at was something like 50-50-10).  There is hope!

>   I've heard it mentioned that each fighter will have a favorite
>weapon. I realize that I have to have each fighter try a variety of
>weapons to find their favorite, but how will I recognize when they
>have? Will it be mentioned in the pre-fight descriptions (where it
>says whether he/she is well suited for the weapon in use), or will
>something be said during the fight, or is there some other way to
>know?

Basically, the weapon attack descriptions will become more "flashy" and
he hit will hit for extra damage more often.  For instance, you will see
less "Lungers strikes using his epee," and more "Lunger whips his epee
back and forth, as if to slash his foes to ribbons."

You can't miss it, believe me.  Sometimes it's hard to tell what a warrior's
favorite weapon is, especially if he starts out hitting hard, or has a good
attack.  But using his favorite weapon definitely helps you win more fights.

>   I'm also curious about the Dark Arena. I know that it's a place to
>dispose of unwanted fighters, but are there any requirements as to
>when I can send someone there? Suppose I have a roll-up that really
>sucks, can I DA it on it's first fight? I have a Parry-Riposte that I
>made up before I knew anything, and now that I've got the Red Book, I
>realize that his stats are quite unsuited for a PR, at least according
>to the info about PRs in the Red Book. Should/can I DA him right away
>and avoid wasting time and money fighting a warrior who is likely to
>have little chance of developing into anything of value?

DA often and quickly.  You can't challenge on the first fight, but youc an
DA.  Interestingly enough, you can also have a first challenge, and then DA
if the challenge doesn't go through, merely by listing DA as your second
challenge.

>   When I'm doing my strategy sheets, is there any advantage that I get
>by challenging, other than having a better idea of who I'll end up
>fighting? Specificly, does one gain more recognition by challenging
>people rather than letting RSI pick the fights?

It is always better to know who you're going to fight, than to let RSI pick
for you.  This avoids having your fighter match up against the 10-1-7 BA
who just got knocked back into the top of the Challenger Inits because a
TP outlasted him.

Use avoids as well.  I think they're more important than challenges.

Trump
dfcleary@ucdavis.edu