Info and data for fans of the play-by-mail games Duel II, Forgotten Realms, and Hyborian War from Reality Simulations, Inc

SOME INFO ON THE RIPPER

547 views
     Being that the parry-riposte is my favorite style, I thought I'd share a few 
things I've learned.
     General design:

     ST: 7-11  Strength isn't all important to the P.R.  An 11 will gives you all well 
               suited weapons.  I'll even go as high as 17, but with no dramatic 
               effect.

     CN: Any   A higher con will give a better endurance and make survival easier.

     SZ: Any   Although a smaller size gives you a defensive bonus.

     WT: 15-21 As with all other styles the higher the better.  15 will give the epee.  
               A P.R. needs to learn skills to survive.
     
     WL: 13-21 Will is as important as wit.  It helps endurance and life expectancy.  
               A higher will allows you to pick apart most scum.

     SP: 5-13  13 is a major breakpoint but it's not necessary to go that high.  A 
               combo of 15 wit, 15 deftness and 11 speed will give you an expert in 
               riposte with any luck.

     DF: 13-21 The higher the coordination the easier it is to hit your attack 
               location.  A 15 will give you the epee.

     The perfect P.R. would look something like this: 9-4-5-17-21-11-17 with starting 
skill bases like:
     Ini: 60%
     Rip: 90%
     Att: 75%
     Par: 70%
     Def: 75%
     Dec: 40%
     One of my first PRs looked like this: 15-10-9-15-15-6-14, Thror the Dark.  He was 
extremely unlucky as far as starting skills.  He now looks a little different: 17-11-
9-17-16-7-15 with 90% Init, 145% Rip, 130% Att, 130% Par, 115% Def and 80% Dec.  I 
destroyed him with early stat raises.
     I had a similar design that was luckier, at least until he got X-ed by a slasher 
in a tourney.  He died with a 12-3-1 record.  But enough of that.  You're probably 
wanting to get on with the strategies.
     So getting on with it, I've tried both offensive and defensive strategies.  
Generally defensive has worked better for me.  Something like: 3-6-6 going offensive 
in minute 3 or 4 with a 10-8-6 or a 9-7-6 and then backing off to a 6-4-6 or a 4-5-6.
     As far as tactics go I don't use 'em very often.  If you use any offensive tactic 
use the lunge or nothing.  Defensively use dodge and parry sparingly, if at all, and 
don't use the riposte tactic after you've achieved a master.
     Okay, now on to weapons and armor.  A parry-riposte is somewhat limited when it 
comes to weapons.  The longsword is their best choice against heavier armors.  I once 
tried the halberd (I'll wait until you finish laughing.)  Anyway, Thror the Dark 
savagely slew Spymaster with it.  I only give the PR an off hand weapon with epee, 
shortsword or the longsword.
     I've done varying things with armor, but I've found that lighter armor works 
better, personal favorites being APL, ARM, and ASM.  I read an article about the 
parry-riposte of coom that made me laugh.  It said something about wearing more armor 
than expected of a PR, listing nothing higher than ACM+F.  Imagine what he would have 
thought fighting Thror the Dark in APA+F.
     This is just an opinion brought to you by Necrom, manager of Knightmares (33), 
Pentad Paladins (55), Northlanders (70) and a couple of others.

Parry-Riposte: The Best of Both Worlds

445 views
     I've had the urge to write this for a long time but Seeker's all arena PA finally 
drove me to ink it out.  I am not a Primus manager, I am a very experienced with PRs, 
though.  With the introduction aside, let's get back to basics.

ATTRIBUTES
     ST:(6-13)  I have PRs with both.  Strength depends a lot on your size.  You 
definitely do not want to be cursed with "does little damage."
     CN:(10-13)  It's always nice to be able to roll with a few punches.  This will 
allow your warrior to miss a few parries and still take out his opponent (very 
important early in life).
     SZ:(3-14)  Size is an attribute you cannot work with.  I've had good set ups with 
all these sizes.  Above 11 is somewhat large, but a larger size can be successful.
     WT:(17,21)  You knew that, though.  Rippers must have at least a 17 wit.  They 
need all the skills and the intelligence level.  Parry-riposte is an art form.
     SP:(5-13)  Some say riposte is hindered with a low speed.  I have a ripper with a 
5 speed and it doesn't hold true with him.  Most of my PRs do have lower speeds.
     DF:(15-21)  Once again, parry-riposte is an art form.  Your warrior must be very 
deft to master this art.  Not to mention deftness is where you acquire most of your 
skills.

WEAPONS:  Primary use SH, EP (my favorite), LO, or SC, offhand use DA, HA, or SH.  I 
personally use weapons instead of shields because rippers have a tendency to attack 
with their offhand.

ARMOUR:  This is your decision.  I usually run mine with ARM and H.  It depends on 
your opponent and your carrying ability.

STRATEGY:  What is parry-riposte?  An art form.  Like painters use different 
techniques, rippers use different strategies.  I usually higher OE's and AL's early on 
in the career.  Especially if they have higher speeds.  Strategy also depends on your 
opponent.  After your PR starts to mature, try a more methodical strategy.  Somewhere 
in the range of 3-3-3 and 6-5-6.  A 3-3-3 is pretty much a scum strategy, your PR will 
parry more than riposte.

NOTES:  Parry-rips take a lot of work and fine tuning.  Parry-riposte is a wicked 
style once your warrior starts to develop.  It's always fun to jump a lunger and put 
it on its face with a OR.  It's even more fun to beat a scum at its own game.  A parry 
rip can easily do both.  Parry Riposte is the best of both worlds.  This is my first 
article so please feel free to diplo me (Tempest-36 and 100) or e-mail me 
(CPetta8272@ad.com) with any questions or comments.  May honour and righteousness 
bless your blades.  May the horsemen of the night reign forever.

                                                       Nobly,
                                                            Lord Dauthstorm

Rillion’s Lunger Wash-Out PR

291 views
Statistics 
Strength: 7+ 
Constitution: 9+ 
Size: Any 
Wit: 17 or 21 
Will: 13 - 15 
Speed: 9 
Deftness: 15+ 

Comments_advice: 

While it is sometimes challenging to run successfuil PR's, they are one of my 
favorite styles because they produce some of the most interesting and 
exciting fights. I find that the PR style is suited to those warriors that 
don't have the will and endurance needed to be a successful lunger. 

As for strategies, I find a good early strategy is to run defensively in the 
first couple of minutes (2-2-2 Parry tactic seems to work well) then try 
and take the inititive away from your opponent as he tires. If you have 
normal endurance, you can try 8-6-x, then gradually drop both the offensive 
and activity level in minutes 4,5 and 6+ (6-4-x, 4-4-x, 4-1-x).   

If you have poor or lower endurance, I'd wouldn't go above a four offensive 
effort or activity level. Even a poor endurance PR can go 10+ minutes with a 
scum on a good day. 

As for tactics, the Parry tactic works well when being defensive. I'll use 
the Riposte tactic occasionally, but usually tend to drop it when the warrior 
gets to Advanced Expert and above in Riposte. Offensively the Lunge tactic 
is good, but be wary of it since it can tire your warrior out quickly. PR's 
are not a power style and if you are looking for them to do well in tournaments, 
I'd look elsewhere. But if you want an exiciting warrior that can be 
competitive for years, PR's have a lot to offer. 

Rillion Elthandilsth currently active in 33, 57, 58, 100 and 105. 

Mojo’s Parry Riposte

297 views
Statistics 
Strength: 9+ 
Constitution: 10+ 
Size: ANY 
Wit: 17+ 
Will: 15+ 
Speed: 3+ (low) 
Deftness: 15+ (11 if high Size) 

Comments_Advice: 

The Parry Riposte is my favorite style, because if designed and ran right, it 
can win in any arena, and they're so fun to run!! 

ST: I chose 9 as a minimum because you want to use the Scimitar early on. 

CN: You need con not only for a PR to stay alive but also to win early on. 

SZ: With 8 - 11, go by my statistics, but with higher size you can have as low 
as 11 deftness, and with lower size you should have more con. 

WT: You need at least 17 in this area to have a chance to learn a lot and 
stay competitive. While making a 21 wit PR could have him learning more 
skills on average, I would assign more points to Deftness or Will before 
going for a 21 wit. 

WL: A lower will PR can still win in regular DM, but has no long term 
potential. 15 will gives you good chance to train stats in the future as 
well as a good shot at normal+ endurance. 

SP: Sure if you design a high speed PR you'll start out with more riposte 
skills, but every one I've designed with low speed by these standards has 
been highly blessed in riposte. 

DF: High deftness PR's do quite nicely. The only way I'd except a PR with 
11 deftness was if it had a good amount of con and high size. DF 11 is the 
very minimum for this design because it's another requirement for the 
Scimitar. Trust me, PR's with low deftness and Shortswords just plain suck!! 

Weapons and Armor: 

Use a Scimitar with an off hand Shortsword early in their career. When they 
achieve a Master in riposte, switch to the Epee w/Shortsword against low 
weights and the Longsword w/Shortsword against all others. You can wear up 
to ARM+F, but don't go any higher. I've had much success running with less, 
but you're taking more of a risk. 

Tactics and Rythms: 

If you're running with the 11 DF/high Size type, try scumming you're 
opponents or going on the offensive with something like 6-6-x Lunge or no 
tactic. If you have my regular design type, run 2-2-x Parry for the first 
two minutes then go something like 4-4-4 Riposte in minute 3 and then back 
to low/low Parry afterward. Parry in Desperation. Against scum, use one 
weapon and the Lunge tactic. Against Lungers and Bashers use the Riposte 
tactic and moderate numbers in minute one then a Parry strategy afterward. 

Training: 

I would recommend only training skills until you reach ADM, but do so if you 
need a physical rating or weapon requirement. 

Example: 

10-10-12-17-15-3-17, my warrior in Simtakka, with a 6-2 record. She learns an 
average of 3.4 skills an arena fight. 

Good luck!! 

Mr. Mojo 

The Basic Ripper

216 views
     Why isn't one of basic's most entertaining styles, a style capable of beating all 
others, a common sight upon the sands?  The myth that rippers are difficult to run and 
inherently prone to dying is widely accepted.  True, the graveyard is full of rippers 
that began their careers running little numbers and the parry tactic.  This is no 
mystery given that very few rippers start with great defenses and the parry tactic 
destroys a young ripper's offense.  In their efforts to make better punching bags, 
many managers have turned to big constitutions and heavy armor.  A dose of sanity is 
long overdue.  If you would like to run some rippers who will survive and win, read 
on.
     DESIGN:  My approach is somewhat unorthodox.  I maintain an evolving list of 
physical requirements for each style, i.e., endurance, punishment, damage, and carry 
capacity.  If you don't have the means to accurately forecast these ratings, ask 
around.  If at all possible, I first max out a new rollup's WL at a value of 15, 17, 
or 21 and then compare the rollup's physical potential with each style's physical 
requirements.  Generally, the style that matches up best and requires me to add the 
least number of points to ST and CN is the one I want.  It isn't absolutely necessary 
for a fighter to be physically fit at the beginning of his career.  Plan ahead.  Will 
a few preselected attribute trains make him so?  Must points be added to the rollup's 
ST or CN so that he can make the grade with no more than two trains per attribute?  
Which weapons will he use?  With these questions answered, it's simply a matter of 
taking WT to the highest odd value possible (avoid 19) and then doing the same with 
DF.  Godlings are not born as a results of how many points you can pump into WT, WL, 
and DF; that's luck's job.
     Young rippers need to be able to go fast for two minutes without tiring.  If your 
ripper isn't physically fit, he will slow down.  If he slows down, you are gambling 
with his life.  The more frail the warrior, the greater the gamble.  That said, if 
your ripper can quickly meet the following criteria and learn reasonably well, you 
will get your money's worth.
     Endurance: Something in the neighborhood of 350 (that's {ST+CN}WL)
     Punishment: Anywhere from the high end of very frail to midrange normal
     Damage:  Normal
     Capacity: Cannot carry a lot (minimum ST/CN combos: 9/8, 10/7, 11/6, 12/5)

     ST: 9 +   Midgets need an 11 or better.
     CN: See Endurance, punishment, and capacity requirements
     SZ: Small (3-8) to medium (9-14)
     WT: 15+   If your ripper doesn't learn, he's toast.
     WL: 15+   See endurance and punishment requirements.
     SP: Though frequently unimportant, it helps to have points here if you're stuck 
with a few 15's in WT, WL, and DF.
     DF: 15+   13 will do if you're fortunate to have a big WT and/or WL.

Strats:        X    8    9    5    5    5    8
               X    8    5    3    3    3    10
               X    6    7    7    7    7    5
               ARM ------------------------- >
               HE -------------------------- >
               N --------------------------- >
               N ------------------------ >  R

     Why the missing numbers in the first minute?  You'll want to find what works for 
your new ripper and possibly change his numbers as he develops.  8-8-6 is probably the 
best opening minute for a young ripper.  If your youngster has a high speed, try 10-
10-6.  6-8-6 is a bit slow for my taste.  Nevertheless, this might be the way to go 
even if your ripper doesn't need to build up his endurance.  Something I call "the 
change" occurs when your ripper approaches his master in riposte, his AD Ex in parry, 
and Experts in attack, defense and initiative.  This is a moment of decision.  If your 
ripper takes normal punishment, this is when you can opt to slow him down.  I don't do 
this, but I have seen 5-7-5 and 5-5-5 parry work rather well.  It's probably wise for 
a slow-running ripper to run fast in desperation.  If your ripper continues to run 
fast after "the change," a first minute strat of 8-10-4 often works well.
     WEAPONS:  A scimitar or longsword belongs in your ripper's hand.  After he starts 
critting, check to see if the epee is his favorite.  I don't believe in heavy backups 
for youngsters; a dagger will do.  Most youngsters will benefit from an offhand dagger 
(preferred), hatchet, or shortsword.  After "the change," rippers who don't slow down 
can improve the quality of their attacks by getting rid of their off hand weapons.  
These guys will need a backup scimitar, longsword, or epee.  Rippers who do slow down 
should keep their offhand weapons.
     ARMOR:  Very frail rippers should debut in ASM/H.  After ten fights or so, it's 
probably best to go with APL/H.  Guys who cannot take a lot of punishment belong in 
ARM/H for their entire basic careers.  Put them in ALE/H if you're feeling gutsy.  
Rippers who take normal punishment can debut in APL/H, ARM/H, or ASM/H.  After ten 
fights or so, it's definitely time for APL/H.  If you decide to slow one of these guys 
down, you'd better put him back in ARM/H or ASM/H.
     CHALLENGES:  Scummers deserve numbers like 4-1-6; keep that big desperation, 
though.  If you know that an opponent is out to kick you when you're down, go with 5-
8-5 or 5-5-5 while he's playing dead and 8-8-5 and 9-5-7 when he's active.  Good aimed 
blows are a pain.  Still, like every other style, they can be beaten with standard 
strats.
     Many people have contributed indirectly to the content of this article.  Foremost 
in my mind are The Lunatic, Scrag, Voo-Doo, U-Star, Shark, Moriarty, and Wormtongue.  
Thanks.  If you have a bone to pick or a story to tell, you know where to find me.

                                                       Cadmus
                                                       Wild Oats (479)
                                                       Solven, DM 22

An Informative Guide to The Parry – Riposte Style

347 views

Parry – Riposte or Rippers can be very deadly if trained and managed effectively. Rippers arent as widely understood as the more common high skill base styles are. They do draw managers who like more of a challenge. It is not a style for quick fix so to speak. They start with much less skill and development than many other styles. This means they require a much longer development time before reaching that successful stage. Rippers are not good short term warriors. They lack what it takes to get many wins early in their career. When you make a ripper, your in for the long haul.

When making a Ripper, it is good to think about making him survive through Basic. Rippers have the second highest death rate, with Aim blows being the first. The main reasons for this I believe, is poor warrior design and/or poor strategy . Rippers, even if designed exactly the same, vary more from one to another than most styles in general. The Aim – blow, I believe is the only other style that varies more widely from one to another, than the ripper. Finding your rippers likes and dislikes maybe quite a task indeed.

The first thing to get a good Ripper is warrior design. His starting stats will greatly effect his starting skill bases as well. Since Rippers starting skill base is lower than some of the other styles, getting as much bonus skills from inital stats is very important. These bonus skills are given most in the WIT and DEFTNESS stats. Odded number stats is where most of the bonus skills are at. Such as 13, 15, 17 and 21. There are no bonus stats to be gained at 19 in any stat except speed. Good rippers will have a minimum of 32 points between WIT and Deftness. 34 or more points is prefered. 17 or 21 WIT and 17 or 21 Deftness makes the best Rippers.

Ripper stats:

Strength: 7-11 gives you the range you need for all ripper weapons.

Con: 10-14 helps keep your ripper alive and helps with encumberance. A wise mgr would put any left over points here, rather than Speed. We’ll get to that in a minute.

Size: 3-11 no bigger. Its a waste of points and kills your defense, which is one thing that will keep your ripper alive.

Wit: 15, 17 or 21 no less. You need the bonus skills and the quick learning to make up for the lower skill base.

Will: 15+ Not necessary, but to be successful quicker in ADM get at least a 15.

Speed: 5-9 Speed is the most disputed thing among ripper managers. It is split 50/50 on its contribution to a rippers success. I believe any extra points left over after adding to odd number WIT , WILL And Deftness, should go to CON, not speed. It makes no deference whether you get those skills gained from speed now or later on. They are still the same number of skills. Those few skills wont make as much difference now,as CON does in keeping the ripper ALIVE. A dead rippers bases dont matter much, now do they? ;)

Deftness- 15,17, or 21 no less. This is a MUST. Deftness gives the most bonus skills out of all the stats. Unlike other styles whom start out with higher bases, a ripper needs all the bonuses he can get. Dont skimp here. Also, many of the Rippers weapons require High deftness.

The average skill bonuses you get for the Parry- Riposte style are as follows: ( Taken from a ween chart that includes decimals)

Skill                                                Bonus
======                                               ======
Attack                                               -1.6
Parry                                                -0.1
Defense                                              -3
Initiative                                            3.1
Decise                                                1.8
Riposte                                               4.6
------------------------------------------------------------

Naturally, rippers get more bonus skills in the Riposte area. To help understand that chart, round the numbers up to the nearest whole number. Example, Decise 1.8 = 2 extra decise skills. There is no way to predict exactly what your rippers starting skills will be. But you can get a good idea when your get your overview back, by using the skill chart which is not listed here. There is the luck factor, which is a random number that RSI gives to make sure no 2 warriors are exactly alike. Some are blessed and get more than average skills, where as other get considerably less. Rippers in general seem to get LESS more than MORE skill in the luck factor part of character generation.

Listed below are some examples of actual rippers in ADM and Primus. Please take note of the + or extra skills these rippers received with the stats they have. Notice the amount of extra skills they received from high WIT and DEFTNESS . The luck factor had some play in these starting bases. These are also examples of when the luck factor gives you MORE starting base skills. The one at the bottom, with the -2 skills, is an example of bad luck. The average skill base totals is +4.8 or 5 skills rounded up. That means that if you get a ripper with more than + 5 skills to his base, he is lucky. Less than + 5 he is unlucky, depending on his stats. If the ripper has less than a 32 total points WIT and DEFTNESS, his chances of getting less the +5 is MUCH higher. If you get more than +5 skills with less than 32 points in your WIT and DEFTNESS total, you a very lucky. One exception is when you have a 30 WIT/DEFTNESS total and a 21WILL. Then you should get +5 or better to your skill base. If not, you are unlucky.

ST-CN-SZ-WT-WL-SP-DF  BASE : ATT ,   INIT,   DEC,    DEF,    PAR,    RIP    (Bonus, +/-)
17-13- 4-17- 9 -9-15         60(0),  60(+4), 30(+2), 40(-1), 45(+1), 65(+5)---- +11
 9-13- 8-17-15- 5-17         55(-1), 55(+4), 15(0),  30(-4), 55(+3), 70(+6)---- + 8
11- 9-12-15-17- 5-17         55(0),  35(+2), 20(+1), 30(-3), 45(-1), 75(+9)---- + 8
 9-12- 5-17-15- 9-17         45(-3), 50(+1), 40(+3), 45(-2), 40(0),  70(+5)---- + 4
10-10- 9-21-15- 4-15         60(-1), 50(+2), 45(+5), 35(-4), 35(0),  65(+5)---- + 7
 8- 9- 7-17-17- 9-17         50(-3), 50(-1), 50(+4), 50(-2), 40(+1), 85(+8)---- + 5
 8-10-12-17-17- 3-17         60(-1), 45(0),  25(+2), 30(-5), 40(+1), 55(+4)---- + 1
 8- 9- 8-15-11-12-21         50(-2), 75(+5), 35(+2), 35(-4), 50(+1), 80(+5)---- + 7
12-10- 8-17-11- 9-17         40(-3), 45(0),  40(+4), 30(-4), 15(-4), 70(+5)---- - 2
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The numbers in the parenthesis are the + or – the projected skill base for that set of numbers. Example: +5 means that he got 5 more than the average projection. Plusses are good and minuses are bad.

A simple method to see whether or not your ripper was lucky or not, is to add the WIT and DEFTNESS together. If it is above 32 then you should get + 5 as an average, and any more than +5 is lucky. The higher the WIT/DEFTNESS total the higher the average. This is a quick guesstimate to see if your ripper was unlucky at getting a good number starting skills. It is not an exact way to tell. You can tell more accurately by using the skill chart that lists the skill bonuses, and the style modifers.

Good WIT statements for a good ripper include High order ATTACK, DEFENSE, and PARRY. An initiative statement is nice, but harder to come by for a ripper, unless you give up one of those 3 up there. If you get ATTACK, DEFENSE, PARRY and INITIATIVE High order you have a GREAT ripper. Rippers almost always get some kind of Riposte statement. Riposte isnt really as important as those 4 up there are in the long run. Decise skill is meaningless to a ripper.

ARMOR
———–
Rippers should wear heavy armor at the beginning of their career. It is better to run a ripper defensively or ‘ scum’ him for awhile until he gains more skill. When he starts getting his Experts in defense and parry, then you can take off some armor. Rippers are more like to DIE in their first 10-15 fights than later on when they have more skill and experience.

Some people dont like playing defensively, and run them offensively at the beginning. Rippers are long term projects and are not ready for this. They lack the skill and experience to do this in the beginning. For this reason, and the fact most people dont put much armor on them at the start of their career, is why some many rippers DIE. By putting heavy armor on them and playing them defensively, increases the rippers chance to make it to ADM ALIVE. I’ve put rippers in ACM and APA in basic for their first 15 fights. It keeps them alive and gets them learns without affecting their performance.

Weapons
————-
Your rippers favorite weapon is VERY important. Rippers do have a very limited amount of weapons to choose from, but do have some good ones.

This is a list of ripper weapons. They are listed in order of which is best to which is worst according to a poll of 58 ripper mgrs.

1. Scimitar- The best ripper weapon without question.
2. Longsword
3. Epee – I wouldnt advise using this weapon in Basic.
4. Shortsword
5. Shortspear
6. Longspear
7. Hatchet

Using that chart above, you can tell whether or not your Ripper got stuck with a lousy favorite weapon. Down below is more info on rippers favorite weapons.

Out of 44 Parry – Ripostes the following is a chart of the favorite weapons they got: EP (11), SC (8), LO (8), LS (4), SS (7), SH(6)

Notice that most got the top 3 Ripper weapons. Just hope your ripper doesnt get stuck with a lame weapon.

Off-hand weapon
————————
Rippers do better with 2 weapons than one. In ADM, a ripper can use either one or 2 and still be effective. Shortswords and hatchets are the most effective. Daggers and sheilds are OK, but not really good in ADM. If you have a ripper with high enough deftness, twin longswords or scimitars can be devasting. Rippers have an unusually higher chance of being Ambidexterous.

Strategy- Using tactics
——————————-
Rippers in general dont react well to tactics in general. This is agreed upon by most ripper managers. Although, they can use Lunge, Dodge, Response and Parry to some effectiveness. Out of 44 Rippers, 3 got Lunge, 6 got Riposte, and 3 got Parry as a favorite tactic. Riposte tactic is lame, and should never be used on a ripper. He reposte good enough without that tactic. All it will do is penalize him in other important areas.

Strategy- (favorite rythems)
————————————-
Unlike other styles, the ripper favorite rythem is used more closely. Most managers use different strategies in basic than they do in ADM for their rippers. They play it more by ear in Basic, and stick mostly to the rippers favorite rythems in ADM. Unless, of course, they have very bad rythems for favorties. They they may go back to playing it by ear.

Below is a graph of 44 Parry – Riposte’s favorite rythems.

A. L. -- O. E.    VL         LO         MO        HI         VH       TOTALS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
VL                 3          1          2         0          0         6

LO                 2          1          2         2          0		7

MO                 2         19          0         1          0		22

HI                 2          0          5         2          0		9

VH                 0          0          0         0          0		0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS             9         21          9         5          0

As you can see, most of the favorites for a Parry Riposte fall in the LOW Offensive and Moderate Activity range.

To give someone an example of a basic strategy, I will give you an example below. This defensive strategy is good for about 10-15 fights. Then play it by ear and/or use the favorite rythems chart above as a guideline.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
MIN      1         2        3       4        5         6        Desp.
------------------------------------------------------------------
OL       2         2        2        4       4         3           7

AL       2         2        2        4       4         2           7

KD       5         5        5        6       6         5           5

Att      RA----------------------------------------------->

Pro      HE----------------------------------------------->
-----------------------------------------------------------------

You can experiment with other strategies, and might even check out how your ripper likes tactics.

In ADM, I’d stick with the favorite rythems, unless they arent working for him.

Best style match-ups for a ripper in basic are: PR, TP, BA, PS, WS. Worst in Basic are : SL, LU, AB, PL, ST.

Best style Match-ups in ADM are: TP, PR, BA, ST, PS. Worst in ADM are : LU, SL, WS, PL, AB.

Well, that should be enough information to get any manager started with a good Ripper. If you need more information about rippers or anything else about DM contact me. I can be reached via email at 103260.3347@ compuserve.com . Or you can Diplo me at the Joker’s Wild 2 in DM 75. I hope this helped someone.

Credits- Major contributors
————————————–
Mitch Nakagawa- AKA- Sensei
Glenn Uren-AKA- Heretic
Jeanette Jerles- AKA- Shark
Gary Triplett- AKA- Miles
Johan Behrenfeldt- AKA- Bartender
Assurnasirbanipal
C.J Caviness-AKA- The Visionist

Credits- others
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The Boss Man
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Seeker
Rajesh Nanda
and many others.

Sir Jessie Jest

–the how to and why–

265 views
     Greetings, fellow managers.  This article will deal with the design and 
successful running of the parry riposte, henceforth referred to as ripper.  A well 
designed ripper will have both enough offense to satisfy those lunger maniacs, and 
defense to make the most parry-XYZ fanatic happy.  The most gratifying quality of the 
ripper is, of course, his legendary riposte ability.  The trick?  Finding out how to 
make him do just that.  It requires a well-balanced mix of good design, diligent 
studying of his fights, and a sound strategy.  Let's do this step by step:

          DESIGN
          ST: 7-11
          CN: 9 or less
          SZ: 7-9
          WT: 15-21
          WL: 13-17
          SP: 5-13
          DF: 17-21

          EXPLANATION:

     ST:  I like to have an 11 ST for using the longsword, a ripper's best weapon vs. 
the heavy armor.  When designing one, unless the strength was 6 or less, I probably 
wouldn't add.  Why?  He needs points elsewhere more importantly.
     CN:  Never add points.  It's a waste and gets you no skills, which are a highly 
valuable commodity you need.
     SZ:  Smaller IS better.  Why?  Again, you need those almighty points elsewhere 
and who cares if you don't have the initiative?  You'll steal it with your riposte!
     WT:  Honestly, I'd like to never start below 17, but the Rollup Gods make that 
quite hard at times.  Therefore I settle for a rock bottom 15, allowing you to use the 
epee and still learn at a respectable pace.
     WL:  I've run with a 13 will and experienced no ill effects.  As a rule, though, 
if you have extra points and just can't figure out what to do with them... slap them 
on will.  Will is important when considering your warrior's long term potential and 
the ability to raise attributes once skills are maxed out through learning.
     SP:  This and deftness are the two main ingredients for riposte.  Nevertheless, I 
place the importance of speed right above con.  It really isn't necessary and quite 
frankly, I'd never add points to it because you won't have any left once maxing out 
wit, deftness, and will.
     DF:  I place this as the second most important attribute for a ripper.  You need 
to be able to hit where you aim and make your shots count.  When you come up against 
that dreaded TP wearing APA/F & ME/ME, 100 hit points-plus, scumming for all he's 
worth, you have to be able to hit those low hit point areas to win that fight.  The 
arms are my favorite attack location.  I've run up against one of these things and by 
minute 7 he dropped his ME, went desperate and gave up.  If you get a design that 
makes you say, "Wow, this could be a good aimed blow," chances are he'd make one 
helluva ripper.

ARMOR:
     Since the mortality rate of young rippers is alarmingly high, I recommend that 
you never go below ARM/H until that rating in defense and parry come your way.  Once 
that happens, and you'll already be on your way to Advanced Expert riposte by this 
time, if not higher, go ahead and put him in ALE, if you want.  Always keep that helm, 
though!  Never forget that your beginning ripper is going to take some hits, and since 
we hate to waste points on con, we depend on the armor to protect us until our 
defenses come on line.

WEAPONS:
     I've had good luck with the LO/DA combo.  The EP/HA works well, also.  As always, 
though, find his FAVORITE!  Others like going with the small shield as the off-hand 
parrying weapon, but since I've never tried that I can't comment on it.  Experiment, 
that's the only way to find out.

EXAMPLES:
     1) 13-9-7-15-13-8-19
     2) 9-13-8-19-15-5-15
     3) 9-7-7-21-13-6-21

     1) This is actually a warrior.  He is running at 75% and doing quite well.  In 
half his fights he has drawn first blood.  Not only having the initiative, but by 
parrying the blow and counter-striking.
     2) This was a ripper also, until ripper #1 killed him.  Lots of potential.
     3) This would be my "perfect" ripper.

     The Reader's Digest version of design is this:  Wit, deftness, and will, in that 
order.  Remember, when designing a warrior, take into consideration the breakpoints 
and place your points accordingly.

STRATEGY:
     This is a general strategy that has worked wonderfully for me.  No two rippers 
are likely to be the same so this is just a good framework to start with.  A highly 
important detail is to thoroughly read your fights and find out what activity level he 
likes to riposte at.  I have also found that the old standby kill desire of 2 more 
often than not made him pass up attack, via riposte, opportunities left and right.  By 
having it at 5, he increased his counterstrikes considerably.

     3    3    6    6    6    5    3
     4    4    4    4    4    3    5
     5    5    5    5    5    5    2
     LA -------------------------- >
     BD -------------------------- >
     N --------------------------- >
     P    P    N    N    N    N    P

     You will notice that when he goes "offensive" in minute three, I don't force 
anything with a tactic modification.  I've found them to hinder a ripper more than 
help.  Some may laugh at this minute three offensive strategy, but he HAS killed in 
minute three.  Against defensive styled warriors, he looked like an offensive lunatic.  
Against offensive warriors, he ripostes 2-3 times per attack thrown at him.

FINAL NOTES:
     Always remember that a ripper will make a corresponding amount of attacks using 
lower numbers as an offensive warrior going ballistic with high numbers.  Don't push 
your ripper, but slowly move his numbers up and down and find out where HE likes to 
run.  Your warrior overview can give you a clue to this.  Don't worry about him making 
a lot of wild attacks at first, as this is normal for rippers.  They get robbed on 
their attack percentage due to their style, but it will come around in time.
     In closing, if this article can help just one person struggling with the ripping 
style, I'll be happy.  I also encourage feedback, whether it be in agreement or 
constructive criticizing.  I base my conclusions from talking to other managers and my 
own experience, which has been best with rippers.  Good luck to all in the battle 
and....

                                        May the Almighty One guide your blade.
                                   Blackhawk, mgr. Knight Rangers (arena 22)
                                        and Knight Rangers (arena 20)