For whatever reason, I decided to use this space to post things from my post archives, this is all stuff dated in the early to mid 90s. Not all of it was my own creation, and will be credited as such if I can still remember who originally write it.

Enjoy!

One of the earliest items (RDI-related)I have for myself, when one of the RDI's (I'm sure you'll recognize the name) sent me the rules for DoS.

Subj: Duel of Swords Rules
Date: 93-09-12 21:38:38 EDT
From: RDI Panthr
To: EdwardScot

DUEL OF SWORDS!


Sword fighting requires a great deal of strength, dexterity, and skill to be successful. But basically, when both opponents are equally matched the fight becomes a process of who can out guess who first!


*****MANEUVERS*****
There are ten basic maneuvers in Duel of Swords:
Thrust
High Cut
Slash
Low Cut
Disengage
Lateral Parry
Sidestep
Circular Parry
Duck
Stop Hit

Each maneuver, when matched against an opponent's will result in a HIT, a MISS, or an ADVANTAGE. A HIT is scored with 1 point, a MISS with 0, and an ADVANTAGE with 1/2 point.


There are two ways to play 'Duel of Swords' (DoS), Live play, or EMail play. The rules are slightly different for each version.


*****LIVE PLAY*****

Both players and the game official meet in the People Connection room "RDI Duel of Swords". The match will be played one round at a time. The players send their moves to the game official by IM only one move per Im and one IM per round. The offici
l will determine and type the results to screen.


WIN: A win occurs when a player reaches FIVE POINTS and is a FULL POINT ahead of his opponent. OR, at the end of Fifteen rounds, the player with AT LEAST a full point lead is declared a winnner!


TIES: A tie occurs when there is LESS than a full point lead at the end of 15 rounds.


FOREITURE: If a player voluntarily leaves during a duel, that player forfeits the match.


PUNTS: If a player is punted and unable to return, the RDI, with the input of the remaining player, will decide if the match is to be ruled a tie or a loss. If both are punted and unable to return then the score, as it stands at the last full roun
, will determine the winner and the RDI will e-mail the results to the
participants.


*****PLAY RESTRAINTS*****
1. No maneuver, except DISENGAGE, may be played twice in a row.

2. If an invalid maneuver is made, or an incomplete set of maneuvers were sent, the Disengage maneuver will be substitued.

3. This is NOT a fight to the death. Both player are fully protected from permanent injury.

4. After two players battle each other they must both battle at least one other opponent before they may again fight one another.


*****RANKING*****
Duelists rise in rank, according to their success with the sword.
Ranks are assigned according to the number of wins over losses.

Rank Needed number of wins over losses
------------------- ----------------------------------------------
Commoner Less than TWO more wins than losses
Swordsman TWO wins more than losses
Master-at-Arms FIVE more wins than losses
Grand Master TEN more wins than losses
Warlord FIFTEEN more wins than losses
Overlord By challenge from a Warlord


A Warlord may challange the Overlord for his title by issuing a formal challange.

The overlord must accept the challange, or be disgraced and lose rank. If the Warlord wins, the player become the new Overlord, and the old Overlord drops to Warlord.


*****FANCY MANEUVERS*****

To reflect the player's ability to handle the sword with greater dexterity and cunning after the experience of many duels, the player will be able to execute Fancy maneuvers. Fancy Manuevers will be awarded according to rank as such.

Rank Number of Fancy Manuevers
------------------- --------------------------------------
Commoner 0 Fancy Manuever
Swordsman 1 Fancy Manuever
Master-at-Arms 2 Fancy Manuevers
Grandmaster 3 Fancy Manuevers
Warlord 4 Fancy Manuevers
Overlord 5 Fancy Manuevers


A Fancy Maneuver may be played anytime at the whim of the player during the duel, using any of the standard ten maneuvers. When sending orders to the game official, the player indicates that the manuever is Fancy by simply adding the word Fancy to
he order. example: Fancy Lateral Parry.


Fancy Maneuver advantages: If the standard result was a MISS, it changes to an ADVANTAGE. If the result was an ADVANTAGE, it becomes a HIT. If the result
was a HIT, no change.


Fancy Maneuver restrictions: The number of fancy maneuvers that may be may be used by the Overlord is restricted to 1 (one) Fancy over that of the number of Fancys of his opponent's.

I.E. When in combat against a Commoner, The Overlord is restricted to 1 Fancy. Against a Swordsman he islimited to 2 Fancys, Fighting a Master-at-Arms the Overlord may only use 3 Fancys, Against a Grand Master the Overlord may use 4 Fancys and whe
in combat againt a Warlord the Overlord may use all 5 of his Fancys.
ll run in cycles of approximately two months. Cycles will begin on the first full weekend of even numbered months, ex. April, June, August, and end the last weekend of the following month. For each new cycle, players records will be adjusted DoS will run DoS will run in cycles of approximately two months. Cycles will begin on the first full weekend of even numbered months, ex. April, June, August, and end the last weekend of the following month. For each new cycle, players records will be adjusted Dos such: Losses will be subtracted from wins, losses and ties will be reduced
to zero. This will allow players to keep enough wins over losses to retain
their current ranking. In example: A player with a record of 15-7-1 at the
end of one cycle would start the next with a record of 8-0-0; 15 - 7 = 8, ties
and losses thrown out.


*****EMAIL PLAY*****

The rules for EMail play are the same as for Live play, except for in how they are scored, which is in the following manner:


In EMail play both players pick fifteen actions and EMAIL them to a game official in the order that they are to be carried out. The game official will compare the two sets of actions and determine the results. The game official will compare one ac
ion at a time. The winner will be the player that scores the most hits after
all 15 manuvers. If after all fifteen actions have been compared the score is
equal, or within 1/2 point, the match ends in a tie.

The first recorded description of Star's End.


Subj: What does it look like?
Date: 94-06-08 16:57:51 EDT
From: SE JoJo

The Star's End is located just down the road from the Red Dragon Inn at
Rhyd

in Spaceport.
As you enter the bar you will notice that the place is somewhat run down
and seedy looking, but at least it is clean. The bar is on the right as you
enter and spans the entire left wall of the room. There is a large mirror
behind the bar and shelves full of various drinks, mostly in bottles.
To the left are table and booths, several in deep shadows. The dance
floor, small though it may be is located on the other side of the tables and
booths, it must be crossed to get to the stage, the pool room and the
stairs.. The juke box stands near the dance floor.
The BIG Tri-D screen is to the left, at the left end of the dance floor.
At the pool room end of the bar is the computer console for those that have
use of such things. There is, of course, a fee for usage.
Directly opposite the doorway that you stand in, is the doorway to the pool
room. Here sits three pool tables and 6 games machines.
A few feet to the left of the pool room door, is the laser-dart board. To
the left of that and behind the stage is the hallway to the restrooms. (Yes,
real indoor plumbing). The stairs at the end of hall lead to the rooms
upstairs.
The place is decorated in neon and glitter..perhaps to help hide the seedy
look of the place. If you need info on a job, hiring someone, or just dumping
a cargo, talk to JoJo.
JoJo is an ex-runner and has many, many contacts on several worlds and in
more then a few demensions. ;)