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THE ULTIMATE AIMED BLOW

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     Oh no, not another aimed blow, you think, they always lose and have a tendency to 
die if they meet the right person.  But I can promise you that this fighter will give 
you a lot of wins.  Not a 20-0-? record, but a respectable one.  Let's have a look at 
the stats:

THE BEST:      IF YOU CAN FIND IT:      TOO BIG:       TOO FAST:      THE MUTANT:
ST:  9         ST:  9                   ST:  9         ST:  9         ST:  7
CN: 15 +/-     CN: 14                   CN: 14         CN: 15         CN: 15
SZ:  3 - 5     SZ:  3                   SZ:  6 - 9     SZ:  3 - 5     SZ:  3
WT: 19 +/-     WT: 21                   WT: 17 +       WT: 19         WT: 13 - 15
WL: 18 +/-     WL: 19                   WL: 17 +       WL: 18         WL: 13 - 15
SP:  3 - 5     SP:  3                   SP:  3 - 6     SP:  4 - 9     SP: 15 +
DF: 15 +/-     DF: 15                   DF: 15         DF: 13         DF: 15 +

ST: So you can use some weapons.
CN: So you can stand some damage, and get at least good endurance.
SZ: The smaller the better.
WT: You need to be smart, and it helps a lot on stats and skills training.
WL: Helps you stand even more damage.  It also helps a lot on stats and skills 
training.
SP: The slower the better, but needs to be trained to avoid clumsiness.  It doesn't 
matter if this stat is low, you will hit when you want to hit.
DF: Gives you the response to other's actions, and gives you the initiative when you 
need it.

     The main weakness of this little fellow seems to be his speed, but this 
disadvantage is made good by his small size.  He will dodge nearly anything, and what 
hits him doesn't matter because of his constitution.  The strategy is all up to each 
manager, but I prefer to run mine like this:

Weapons:  Epee vs. Light Armor
          Short Spear vs. Medium Armor
          Shortsword vs. Heavy Armor

Shield:  Medium Shield vs. Light and Heavy Armor

Armor:   Depends on who I am challenging

Helm:    Full helm

Strategy           1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th+ Desp.
Offensive Effort    5    5    5    6    5    4    2
Activity Level      5    6    6    6    5    5    4
Kill Desire         4    4    5    6    6    4    2

Attack Location: Head or Chest

Defend Location: Body or Head

Offensive and Defensive tactics are something I seldom use.

     Challenging is very important when running an aimed blow.  Try to challenge big, 
unarmored fighters.  Train strength, speed, and deftness.
     Well, that's all, for now.  Try it and send me a diplo note if you have any 
comments on my aimed blow.
     Brought to you by Manimal, Manager of Cowards Guild, DM-31.
     May victory by yours (or mine.)

Storm Front’s thoughts on a successfull Aimed Blow design

398 views
Statistics 
Strength: 3 - 11 
Constitution: 9 
Size: 5 - 9 
Wit: 17 - 21 
Will: 15 - 21 
Speed: 5 
Deftness: 17 or 21 

Comments_advice: 

Strength: Aimed Blows, if designed right and ran properly, can use only a 
dagger and still win. That is why you can get away with only a 3 here. Of 
course to use the classic weapon of the Aimed Blow style, the Quarterstaff, 
you need a ST of 11. You want ST and SZ to at least get you into the Normal 
Damage range. 

Constitution: A CN of 9 with a SZ of 5 and WL of 17 will keep you out of the 
Very Frail range of Takes Damage. I have noticed with a lot of Very Frail 
warriors one hit and they are out. When I say "out" I mean Out of the Game...
Dead. I believe the lower the Hit Points, the more likely to die. Aimed Blows 
are hard enough to keep alive in Basic. Give them a chance. On the other hand,
don't go above 9, these points can be used elsewhere. 

Size: The smaller the SZ, the better the Defense. If you get stuck with a 9, 
try to get ST to 11 for the QS. Any bigger, go with a different style. AB's 
need the points in WT, WL, and DEF. 

Wit: The same stands for AB's as it does for other warriors. The higher the WT 
the more skills gotten at creation and the (so it's been said) more skills 
learned in a fight. I wouldn't go any lower than 15. AB's get shafted and 
creation anyway. This way they have a chance to catch up. 

Will: AB's don't burn a lot of Endurance, but they do need to take some 
damage. Although WL does not play a big part in Damage Taking, it does 
help. I've noticed higher will AB's tend not to "bow their head in a token 
of surrender," as quickly in a fight. 

Speed: Really don't need it. As long as SP and DF gets you into the Normal 
Coordination range you are fine. You do not want an uncoordinated AB. 

Deftness: This is the most important attribute for an Aimed Blow. Do not, I 
repeat, do not got less than 17 here. I tend to not make an AB unless the 
DF is 21. One simple reason for this. It is believed that if an AB has a 
21 DF, he gets double the Attack skills from 13 and above in DF. So instead 
of 5 attack skills you get 10 attack skills from Deftness. Plus, if his ST 
is low, you want high DF. A mega accurate AB can win easily with a pair of 
DA's.

If you are lucky enough to get a favorite learn of Decise you have what I 
like to call a, imagine this, Decisve Aimed Blow. This is an AB that has the 
ability to out jump Strikers. 

This whole article has been based on my experience and other literature I've 
read. This design may or may not work for you. All I can say is I've had 
most my succes in the game with Aimed Blows, and this is what works for me. 

Storm Front, Mgr of Force of Nature, Arena 29 (Lapur) 

The Swift Aimed Blow { redundant isn’t it? :) }

326 views

Statistics
Strength: 3 – 11
Constitution: Any
Size: Any
Wit: 15 – 17 – 21
Will: 11+
Speed: 3 – 7
Deftness: 17 or 21

Comments_advice: This article will be much like SF’s (Storm Front, DUH!)
Mostly because he’s got the right idea and because I like him so much ().

Strength: 3-11: 3st use Daggers, 5 st use Shortsword, 7 st use Epee, 9 st
use Scimitar, 11 st use Longsword. I like a little more because of the
possible damage bonuses.

Constitution: Any: I know, its a scary thing but an AB can actually have
any CN, I personally run a *gasp* 3 CN AB, he’s got the other stats to make
up for it though, trust me.

Wit: 15-17-21: Needs to be smart to be competitive, DUH!

WL: 11+: This is where most disagree with me. Aimers have a low burn so IMO
they don’t need end, but if you have WL it will be better long term.

SP: 3-5: NO use. Just skip it.

DF: 17 or 21: If you have to ask why, don’t make an Aimer

I run 7-7-7 and slowly drop AL OE as the fight goes on, most of mine don’t
last past min 3 or 4 though. Have fun and good dueling.

Swifty McSwift, mgr. of TOO MANY TO NAME!(Jeez these tons). But seriously if
you want to send me a diplo send it to, Da Bomb Squad(305) in DM #35

HOW I MADE DUELMASTER IN THREE EASY STEPS

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                                         OR
                              a new look for Aimed Blows

     Greetings and salutations, all.  Here's a new twist on aimed blows I haven't seen 
before....one that works, at least for me!  Here's what I did with Rex Walters, my 
first Duelmaster in the Free Blades transfer arena, DM 70.
     ST: 17     (for good damage, attack and parry skills)
     CN: 13     (gonna need every hit point he can get)
     SZ: 4      (smaller the better!)
     WT: 4      (overrated for aimed blows!)
     WL: 21     (if ya try this method, 17 is a MINIMUM)
     SP: 4      (ya want NO speed, none, nothing, zero!)
     DF: 21     (better max this one out too, at least a 19)

     You laugh at me?  I started expert in both attack and parry! (OK, so I got lucky, 
I didn't expect either one of em.)  But both are in reach with a little luck.  Hey, if 
ya can get that strength to 21 you're almost guaranteed those experts... though a bit 
more CON would be nice.
     But how do I RUN this monstrosity, you may ask?  Why, I'm glad you inquired!  
LOTS of armor.  The hit points combined with, say, platemail should win this character 
a lot of fights.  But, while I've picked up a few easy wins scumming, that's not 
really what this character does best.
     I use the only weapon Rex is well suited to: the bare hand.  With an offhand 
small shield or shortsword, so I can take advantage of that expert parry rating.  So: 
FI-SH, APM-H.
     And I run him at a 4 offensive effort, with a matching 4 activity level.  He can 
last through the initial onslaught of nearly any offensive, then smash them.... like a 
good waste.  And with that monster endurance and good damage, no one scums this 
warrior!
     I attack and protect the head, usually, and keep the kill desire high... 5-7 
generally.  Now, how to become Duelmaster?
     Well, step one is fight your first fight... and train your CON.  Step two, now 
that you're in the arena, is get a fight with an up-and-coming young warrior from the 
Duelmaster's team... and kill them.  (I randomly matched up with, and killed, a member 
of the incoming Duelmaster's team...luck helps, ya know.) Offensives that wear 
themselves out but haven't quite dropped are the easiest to kill.
     Then, when the Duelmaster comes at you (bragging about how he "only" needs to 
beat you twice to assure his ascension to the Isle) you stomp him.  Badly.  Once 
you're on that lofty throne he won't even be able to bloodfeud you, since you can bet 
he's not gonna be anywhere near the challenger champions after losing to a 2-fight 
warrior (just ask Ciron of ENDS WITH IRON, now in AD).
     There are drawbacks, of course.  Once you get to that level, odds are you're 
gonna get stomped like a stuck pig (I was most challenged 2 turns in a row after this 
trick... Oo!  I love mixed metaphors...)  But... even a 4 wit warrior can learn skills 
against gladiators with 50 fights!
     Rex is now 7-3-1.  All three losses have come against warriors now in AD. In 
those ten matches, he's trained his strength and constitution once each, and learned 
twenty skills, including his adex in both parry and attack.  And boy, is it fun 
humiliating some of those "gods" bound for AD!
     What else can one do with this warrior?  Well, Rex is, get this, well suited to 
an off-hand epee!  He wouldn't dare use one as a primary weapon, but its a great off-
hand toy...
     Does he have what it takes to be a long-term winner?  Who knows?  He's probably 
the DUMBEST aimed blow to ever make Duelmaster... He's in the Challenger Champions and 
climbing....and he'll meet ya in AD! 
     Amazingly enough, this is not an isolated fluke.  We entered a similar warrior 
into Bloodgames (with the 4's as 3's, and a bit more CON).  That warrior, Jalon, is 
now in AD after going 9-1-5 and finishing on TOP of his Bloodgames arena.
     Ah, just thought I'd mention I have had a second bare-handed Duelmaster, now... 
Seeker Still Water in DM 74 is an open-hand lunger, Duelmaster at 8-1... but that's 
another story...

                                             --Khyron
                                             mgr., Pitt Gladiators (2,29,56,103)
                                             Jayhawks        (70)
                                             Silent Storm    (65,74,75)
                                             and numerous others....

Aimers my way!

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Statistics:
Strength: 9-21
Constitution: any
Size: 5-11
Wit: 15-21
Will: 11-17
Speed: anyway
Deftness: 17 or 21

Comments_advice:

Aimed Blows in my opinion are one of the best stlyes in the game. They can
dodge, they can attack, and they can kill! The numbers I have given to you
will in my opinion give you a pretty good setup. Now I know the strength
range is pretty high, but trust me, a small aimer combined with the
strength of 10 warriors, there’s gonna be HELL TA PAY! My current one
is 5-1-1, and has utterly destroyed Lungers. Also try and shoot for an
Exp. Attack on there overview, that will get you off to a great start!

Run them slow but Decisive, let there skill do the work. I usually run mine
like 10-3-8 first minute, then after changes daily. Use Dec tactic or dodge.

Thats that, I hope this helps some of you out.

Rosebud Mgr of: Ronin DM-51 Posse DM-77 Death Penalty DM-76 E-Mail: Bludcrest@yahoo.com

Aimer

231 views

Statistics
Stength: 9+
Constitution: any
Size: any
Wit: 9+
Will: 17 or 21
Speed: any 5-9 preffered
Deftness: 21

Comments_advice:

This is my favorite type of AB, i have several of them and they have
remarkably good records. Most people say “xxx is a low burn style don’t
give them will…” I quite frankly find that absurd. in my experience Will
is more than an Endurance factor. My High will warriors perform consistently
better than their lower will versions. Secondly this type of roll is
destined for scum hunting. a high will AB will eat a scum alive, where the
lower willed counterparts will tire. now this is in no way comprehensive, I
consider this a low tourny warrior with some long term potential if it has a
good learning curve.

I run them 10-10-x usually sometimes with Dec tactic sometimes without.
Lower the strat in minute 2 to a high-low strat for the remainder of the fight.

Examples:

10-8-4-15-17-x-21

9-x-x-11-21-x-21

11-x-x-13(2)-21(1)-x-21(1) (burned)

The first and last Have TVed (inits, rookies)

Mordraith, 5440 or Fight! DM36 or Kill ’em All DM65 Mordraith@DOOMcorps.com

Aimed Blows My Way

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Okay, so it’s a pretentious title. No more so than anyone else’s, what with all
these “the perfect” this and “the perfect” that; what I’m going to show you here is
several different ways to make aimed blows and win with them.
There is no one specific way to make an aimed blow. You’ll hear a lot of
managers claim that they “HAVE” to have a 21 DF in order to be any good at all. Well,
that’s a trifle exaggerated. It’s NICE to have a 21 DF. This will increase your
attack rating, and give you a certain boost. But it isn’t necessary for a good,
solid, long-term aimed blow.
I’m going to give several examples of aimed blows, both how-tos and how-not-tos.
All the aimed blows represented here actually fight on one of my stables, so I did
this all by hit-and-miss. Unlike some managers, I don’t believe that the first,
third, and fifth rules of aimed blows is “they die.” It’s only the third rule.

Now then. Design:
ST: Any, really. You can go low, since aims can handle daggers and open hand
just fine.
CN: Again, any. A little more can help them take a hit, but if they’re lucky,
they’ll do all right even if they can’t.
SZ: Any. This is a versatile style. Big ones do great. Little ones do great.
WT: I’m going to surprise you, here. Anything. Yep, anything. Best is 11-21,
of course.
WL: Again. Any. Honest! An aim can do without will and can also use it to its
best advantage. But from here on is where you’ve got to pay attention.
SP: LOW. Keep it below 9 if possible. Below 7 is better.
DF: HIGH. 21 is always best, but 17 works okay, too.
So now you have a rollup with a low speed and a high deftness and it doesn’t look
like much else. You’ve got a good aimed blow. Yes!

Examples of “do” design aims:

     1) 7-5-12-21-11-7-21
     2) 11-16-6-21-9-4-17
     3) 10-15-6-17-9-6-21
     4) 13-9-5-17-17-6-17
     5) 11-5-10-11-21-5-21
     6) 8-10-9-17-15-4-21
     7) 5-10-7-17-17-11-17
     8) 12-12-7-21-9-6-17
     9) 7-11-8-11-21-5-21
    10) 9-14-8-15-17-4-17

Ten is a good, round number. 1-4 are Immortal. All have winning records. Most
of them beat lungers in one minute. The low-con ones have the most trouble, because
they can’t take a hit–if they get hit, they go down. Fortunately, that’s only killed
a few of mine (the dead ones I won’t list just now, since it’s so depressing).

Examples of “don’t” design aims, unless you’re as insane as me or much more
experienced in your aimed blow running:

     1) 17-5-5-11-17-9-21  (beat the DA three times before he was killed--he gets a 
special place at #1)
     2) 13-8-12-11-11-18-11
     3) 11-12-6-21-13-8-13
     4) 11-12-12-17-11-4-17
     5) 12-7-18-13-13-5-16 (my first)
     6) 11-14-7-9-17-9-17
     7) 9-11-9-17-11-10-17

There’s certainly more “don’ts” than dos, but those are ones I actually have
played somewhere; 2-5 are immortal, with usually 50% records except for the 11 DF (who
is in permanent retirement). He came along early in my aimed blow career, when I was
making EVERY rollup into an aimed blow to see for myself what worked and what didn’t.
That didn’t. Some of the mortal ones I’m still running, and they do well enough, but
as I said, until you get a little experience there are some things you may not want to
try unless, like me, you want to see what happens for yourself.
Now for strategy. This is probably the most important thing you’ll give your
aim.

Weapons: Scimitar, unless they don’t have the strength for it, in which case, dual
daggers. Longsword is next, then fists, then quarterstaff. You need an 11 ST for
longsword, so that’s probably not always realistic. If your aim likes to fight with
his fists, you can let him, but I’d advise waiting until he’s got some experience, and
you know your opponent isn’t much on armor and parrying, because you can do yourself
some serious damage on the parries. Quarterstaff is a two-handed weapon, so bear that
in mind if you use it.

Armor: Keep it light, no more than ARM/H, and then only if you’re worried about your
opponent. An aimed blow is a fast, offensive warrior–don’t load him down.

Strategy:

10        8         8         6         6         6         10
10        2         2         1         1         1         10
 1 --------------------------------------------------------- >
LL --------------------------------------------------------- >
HE --------------------------------------------------------- >
 D

That’s a good, all-purpose, general strategy. Some aims will want to play around with
it, and you let them–see what they like. But, and this is VERY important: keep that
KD low! An aimed blow relies on his control and his accuracy, and higher KDs will
cause them to lose a lot of that. If you’re bloodthirsty, change the attack location
to the head. I recommend the legs for knockdowns. Either way, your aim will attack
THAT LOCATION, over and over again, until he has defeated his opponent, and very
decisively, from total parries (the classic aimed blow opponent) to lungers (the
classic aimed blow enemy). Remember: the aimed blow is an OFFENSIVE style. He has
some finesse, but he is a brutal and efficient warrior. Keep him in control; he’ll
win. You can also play with desperation, but for me just dropping the first minute
tactic often works just fine. As for the use of decise, as always, it’s up to the
manager, but decise will help keep your aim from “standing around looking for an
opening” in the first minute. Get him moving.

As always, experiment, find what works for you, and have fun.

Raf
Lord Protector
Ivory League
Manager of Tex’s Rangers (51, 100, 101), Assassins (40, 105), Impressionists (27,
105), The Damned (30, 105, 101, 102), etc.

Aimed Blow Castle Style

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Statistics
Strength: 8 – 9+; at least normal damage giving
Constitution: At least normal damage taking ability
Size: Small preferably
Wit: Preferably 17+
Will: 9 – 15, depending on long or short term
Speed: enough for normal coordination ( just can’t imagine an uncoordnated AB )
Deftness: Preferably 17+

Comments_advice:

This is not an end all design for aimed blows, but it’s a good design for Aimers nonetheless.

Strength: Damage giving should be at least normal. How can you beat anyone
if you do little damage? Your Aimers should at least be able to use the
scimitar, because daggers, epees, shortswords, and short spears have a
habit of not penetrating armor even if was a good attack.

Constitution: There are too many lungers and slashers in regular DM to
recommend anything, but at least normal damage taking. In conjunction with
padded leather armor or ring mail it’s possible to survive an offense’s
onslaught. I prefer damage taking rated close to “can take a lot of damage”.

Size: The smaller the better.

Wit: For aimers just like with all the other styles learning skills is very
important. With this aimer design good dueling decisions are paramount as
well. There is more to wit than just learning.

Will: Will tends to be dependent on whether a fighter is called long term or
short term. Will also plays a part in how quickly a fighter does or doesn’t
give up. I prefer a will of 11-13 because you don’t want too much will that
your aimer nevers gives up and dies. But, you don’t want too little will that
your aimer gives in too a blow in fight that he was winning. Keep in mind
will if there will be any stats that need to be trained.

Speed: If you want to make an aimer do not add speed, but I’d recommend
enough speed for normal coordination just in case that back-up weapon needs
to be pulled out. I would stay single digits on this stat.

Deftness: The most important aimer attribute. What more needs to be said?
There are two ways to fight an aimed blow. There is minute one and there is
how the aimer really fights. The basics are that an aimer can fight either
offensive or defensive. With offensive you’re hoping to get the jump on your
opponent by striking the first blow. If you have a low speed aimer don’t try
this unless he learns decisive skills. With a 7-9 speed it’s possible,
because you can take advantage of the low speed offenses that exist. Now,
just hope you don’t miss.

For the defensive aimed blow there is parry and there is dodge. I would only
use a defensive strategy for the first minute or two to give the offensive
time to run out of endurance. After that the aimer will defend as he sees fit.

Armor? Yes! Padded leather or ring mail with this design. Yes, even with
dodging. Keep in mind that aimed blows are offensive. That they don’t wait out
opponents like scums. They also don’t overpower opponents like lungers.

If you don’t want to look for your favorite weapon scimitar is always a good
default weapon. Keep shields out of his off-hand. Use an off hand weapon only
if your primary weapon is a single-handed weapon.

Citizen Kane