I vote no Osgiliath for duels, knock off -1's op
I agree. I'm no longer fighting any official Olympic/cup duels there. Fact is, too much precedence is shifted from the players' raw skill to other factors - factors which needn't be tolerated if only nabs would use better duelling arenas like MT[T], etc instead of clinging to traditional, flawed maps like Osgiliath and Rivendell.
Firstly, there is the obvious evil that what in more sensible theatres is only a mere axe often proves, on Osgiliath, to result in precarious (and often scandalous) "cliffhanger" fights on the railings. There is no conceivably good thing about this scenario. The railing/rocks screw with both party's combos often giving the aggressor cheapshots and the victim a CB which otherwise would not have been. Worst case is you'll get a -1. Some may say that this adds to the duel's depth (pun intended), but it's not totally impartial. Where the duel is fought can actually play a big part in the duellists' success or failure. Only ~2/3 of the bride is over water, essentially giving the warrior on evil's side of the bridge an immunity to -1s. Tl;dr: Osgiliath isn't even democratic. Fascist Mai Mai won't use any other map, and not all axes are equal
before God on Osgil. But they should be, and would be on other maps.
Also, there are those rocks which serve no other
master than Sauron alone purpose than to be tripped over and to create cheapshots, ie. an unfair advantage in the fight resulting from treacherous environments, as opposed to strategy and skill alone.
Osgiliath is also just too long and results in more running than need be. Its only suitable purpose is for straight-shot archer duels. Only this and nothing more. (Poe intended)
Outlaw Osgiliath 2014
Vote for Taco
"Elsewhere our duels are fine
Erase this bad design
Deaf ears our voices rest
Tyrant, this is protest"
- misheard lyrics of A Farewell to Arms by Machine Head