The concept of the duellist is not one of the original components of the
Avalon gameworld but a late addition by the pantheon to mitigate the
impact of bullying and sadistic tactics thwarting the early progression
of youngsters, preventing them from fulfilling their promise - or even
testing the limits of their ability. It is not too difficult for a
mighty individual to persecute a fledgling apprentice until that small
fry feels helpless to the point of despair - and with despair comes
surrender; potentially permanent surrender from the battlefield of
Avalon life. To lose those of great promise is not the aim of the
divinities, although to mollycoddle their early months is far from the
divine way forward either. Instead there is the status known as
'duellist'. Here find listed a few of the main pros and cons of this
partially-protected status:
- you cannot be easily attacked in mortal melee except in a mutually agreed challenge or duel, unless you are declared FIGHTING ON prior to your acquisition of the duellist status.
- you should not (and mostly cannot) directly attack another mortal without mutual agreement (challenge or duel or if both have FIGHTING ON declarations).
- you cannot be directly attacked by creatures/minions of another player unless as part of the agreed duel or challenge or in conditions where the loyal player would be able to initiate an attack against you.
- you cannot attack creatures/minions of another player unless as part of an agreed duel of challenge (or if an attack between players would normally be possible), nor minions of a city or guild save under special circumstances.
- you are able, under duellist status, to attack those minions of towns, villages and small enclaves (such as Kenkria's Monastery or Pangyron's Halls).
- the protection offered by duellist status does NOT apply when you are standing on foreign city soil and have been declared an enemy of that city. When you step into enemy soil (this includes areas such as Goblin Town), the duellist status will be removed until you have departed the enemy soil and until sufficient time has passed for you to be 'no longer considered in the fray'.
- you will be restricted in various ways interfering with the actions of those who are without any special protection (such as seeing stone spheres of influence, troop mustering). It is for you to discover the precise extent of these limits.
- you can be affected by brewed herbs but not poisons.
- you cannot slay enlistable men, those capable of being enlisted and thereby turned into city or guild soldiers.
Type CHOOSE DUELLIST to select duellist status (which cannot be reversed) for the period of one whole Avalon year. Careful that you make this decision with great forethought for without rarely given divine aid, once the duellist status is selected, it cannot be discarded until the Avalon year (two real weeks) has passed. It is certainly a safety net from ambush or bullying, a way to hone one's skills against well-matched enemies, but conversely denies a mortal the thrill of uncertainty when travelling the land, of sudden unexpected heroism, of aiding allies or thwarting enemies (should they not wish it also). A double-edged sword then; to be sure. See also: DDW to lists those nearby with duellist status, HELP CHALLENGES and HELP DUELS.
NOTE: The FIGHTING ON/OFF declaration CANNOT be made by duellists and as such the status of your 'fighting readiness' when your duellist choice is imposed will remain with you throughout the duration of the period.
