Re: Studying an opponent and Omega Strikes

Erol K. Bayburt

  Simply playing an adventurer makes me feel like I'm playing
  a person with a death-wish, and being in a strange
  romanticized world where saving my best attack for last or
  using my own body to find out if the fight is too tough are
  *not* crazy-stupid ideas actually help against this feeling.

Attacking all out is not always the approach skilled combatants
choose, even in the player world.  I can give a couple of examples:

(1)  A former SEAL comes on an attempted mugging, using a knife, in
New York City.  He could easily kill the mugger, but instead foregoes
his best attack, instead roughing the mugger up a bit and scaring him
off.

(2)  A fencing instructor, without protective equipment, asks someone
in a beginner class to lunge at him, and counts on his own ability to
parry to keep himself safe.

Most of the examples I've seen in games using my rules system are
similar:  someone who is much more skilled does not use his full
skill, because he doesn't need to and often because he's interested in
the ability of the lesser skilled opponent.

Warren J. Dew