REPOST:Duelmasters--PS article From: leeme@cnsvax.uwec.edu Date: Wed, 12 Jan 1994 11:13:06 +0000 REPOST of Phido's PS article * Again, outdated, but still respectable article -- ML From 5/5/89 THE PARRY-STRIKE Strength: A PS needs only to do normal damage to be successful. Good is nice, but it is not necessary; 9-11 is ideal. Allows use of SC, BS, LO-- the primary PS weapons. Con: A well designed PS will no rely on huge amounts of CN, any more than 13 is scummy in my book. You can win a lot of early fights with CN, but the higher ranked a warrior becomes, the more he needs to count on his defenses, not his damage absorbing ability; this is true even more so in ADM. 11 is plenty. Size: As small as you can get. Not all rollups can be PS and you can pretty much eliminate anything over a size 9. Of course, you can be successful with larger ones, but in general I recommend a size 7 or smaller. Wit: All warriors need wit, the more the better. Higher wit means better attack, better defense, better everything. It's truly a rare warrior who has good long term potential with less than 13 wit. A 21 wit would be great, but you'd have to skimp on other stats (plus you need a very cooperative rollup), let's say 17 wit for purposes of realism. Will: This is where the majority of endurance comes from; yet, PS don't need an overabundance of it. A PS with normal endurance can make 15 attacks before the first fatigue comment and 30-35 before dropping from exhaustion. If a warrior can't beat someone within 30 attacks, he's not too likely to win. 13 will is minimum, but only if you've got a couple extra on ST and CN. I'd say 15 is good and 17 is plenty. Speed: PS fall in the moderate range. Moderate to me is about 9. You can do great with lower; in fact, many experienced managers advocate as low as you can get. Yet, I think you lose necessary decise, defense and riposte if you go lower. Deftness: Deftness is good, I like DF. It enhances your warrior's riposte, attack, and defense, the essence of a good PS. I've seen mutants who've done great with a 7, but they were exceptions. A 13 DF is a more realistic minimum. So, putting that all together, I come with something like this: 11-11-6-17-15-9-15. Not Mr. 18-2, but an excellent warrior with lots of potential. Now, how to run him. I'll give a general strategy without explanation: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th Desp 4 5 7 7 7 4 4 7 7 5 5 4 1 7 4 5 5 5 7 4 4 Brought to you by Phido Up