So, you and I are doing Bloody Versus.
We both successfully defend on the first roll.
I do a little better so now I get to pick the parameters of the next round.
If I pick another weapons test, then we’re rolling to wound each other again.
What happens if I pick on the of the other options?
These seem clear to me:
If I pick Power, then whoever wins enjoys the same benefits as winning a Fight with Lock. If I win, you are at my mercy!
If I pick Speed and win, then I’ve essentially accepted the lesser goal of “run away” as the outcome. (Can I pick Speed to do something that gets me a stronger victory, like outmaneuver you?)
These I can’t figure out:
If I pick Speed and lose, it’s not that you’ve escaped, is it? More like you caught me?
What’s the outcome of winning a Forte test to outlast your opponent? Say I outlast you: where does that leave us in the fiction?
(Also, if we do any of these non-weapon things, that’s not a second round of Bloody Versus, right? It’s a straight-up opposed check?)
What are the intents, here? That’s the heart of it. Having the most successes means you get the advantage of being the aggressor, right? So the opposition is basing their intent on what you’re doing. If you choose Speed to, say, run them down and outmaneuver them to cut off their escape, their intent may be to scatter off into the night. Or it might be that they want to cut you off and surround you. A Forte test might be keeping the fight going until one side is too exhausted to lift a weapon and gives up.
I think the core of my question is “Which intents are kosher?” I mean, part of BW is that I can’t craft a persuasive argument with Symbology or use Sword to climb a cliff. So, are valid intents scoped to what the text suggests, or can you pretty much bring anything into it as long as it’s part of what you can do with Power/Speed/Forte?
Like, if I get to choose the next test after BV stalemates, can I initiate a Speed vs. Speed test to say “I want to outmaneuver you” instead of “I want to get away?”
Also, what’s an example of a fictional thing you would accomplish by going for Forte vs. Forte to outlast your opponent?