Duels Defense

Kadasak or "Duels Defense" is a modern variant of an ancient West Benecian military training exercise. Originally called Girutet ("Running the Fire") by the Benecians, it was "played" on various terrain types (rocky, forested, flat, trenched, etc) that approximated battlefield conditions. The aim of the exercise was to train tactical commanders and their troops the art and science of defensive warfare. The commander was given a limited number of mobile defensive platforms and weapons to place upon the field as he saw fit. These platforms and weapons consisted of towers and seize engines (catapults, trebuchets, etc) and were manned by his army.

Once the towers and engines were placed, ever increasing hordes of deadly runners were unleashed from one end of the field (known as the Fire Gate). These runners were traditionally captured orcs, wild animals, and other prisoners of war. Their desperate goal was to run the field and avoid getting killed, all the while staying on the path in hope of making it to the far end (known as the Liberty Gate), where the few that survived were granted their freedom.

The Girutet commander was granted the opportunity to acquire better defensive weapons and structures through a point system-for every runner killed. Upgrades and replacements, used carefully with tactical finesse, lay at the heart of Girutet. A commander who stayed cool under pressure, who understood the uses of terrain and placement, who utilized his men and equipment to their fullest, was rarely disgraced by failure. And failure, in the Benecian military-or for that matter, any military organization in Makanis-meant certain banishment if not death.

During the Benecian invasion of the Second Kingdom under King Harkaan I (1 - 51 MKII), the eastern Machan armies of Lord General Pozak came into contact with the concept of Girutet and was much taken by its potential, particularly by those in the military clans that made up the army's officer corps. The Machans called their variant Yura Kadasak or "Defense Against the Tide." Generally the rules were the same as Girutet but the Machans added magical defenses and the use of battle mages and druids. This variant also brought with it the addition of wyrms and dragons that brought a new twist in strategy since they no longer had to follow ordained paths since they could fly.

Over time, the large-scale battlefield nature of Yura Kadasak proved to be too cumbersome and expensive. Lord Priconas of the Clan Kirdonas, a superb Tanchass (much like chess) game player, designed a version of Yura Kadasak that could be played on a large board with various wooden and stone figures. This version evolved into one of the classic strategy games played by the military-one that makes its debut in a new form for the masses to enjoy. Welcome to the new Kadasak: Duels Defense!