Hey there,
I spent some time thinking about what a more complex combat system could look like. I overall like the basic combat mechanic where you roll against the Strength or the Dexterity of your opponent, but there are cases where this system is just too basic. One of the more obvious ones being duels.
That’s why I thought it would be cool to give the defending player the option to make an opposed roll against the attacker’s attack. It adds just one roll more that needs to be resolved but can be used for a great effect. We even have a opposed roll mechanic in the game.
For example: Combatant A wants to hit Combatant B. Combatant A rolls a 17 against Combatant B’s Strength of 12. A hit. Next round Combatant B decided to parry actively. Combatant A rolls a 8, Combatant B rolls a 10. Combatant B successfully parries the strike.
In this case we have no TN, meaning a blow can not miss, but only be parried, dodged or blocked. I am not sure yet if thus poses a problem or is of negligible concern. What do you think? In any case it would be weird to roll against the Strength of the opponent to hit and then let the opponent roll to block that hit. We could introduce a TN based on the attack at this points, but that would just further complicate things. So, that leaves us with two options:
a) Straight up opposed roll, highest wins.
b) Attack roll against defenders appropriate ability. If successful, defender can try to beat the attacker’s roll.
Maybe you have some ideas how this could be resolved a bit more elegantly.
Stay safe.