Duels

Overview

A duel is an alternative way of operating one-on-one combat. Rather than using standard combat rules where the goal is to reduce the enemy’s hit points, the goal of a duel is to win a series of contested d20 rolls. The successes and failures of either creature are represented using a Duel Meter; whenever one end of the Meter is reached, the creature representing that end of the Meter is declared the victor of the duel.

The progress of a duel is indicated by the Duel Meter; this is represented by a series of ticks. The center tick represents the initial condition of the duel, and the ticks to either side of the center indicate which creature has control in the duel, with the ticks at the very end of the Meter indicating the victory condition for each creature. A duel begins through an initiative roll; whichever creature rolls the highest gains control over the duel. After the initiative roll, a marker is placed at the center tick of the Duel Meter. After this, the creature in control chooses any attribute with a bonus on their character sheet–ability score bonuses, skills, saves, CMB, attack, etc.–and challenges the other creature to a contested d20 roll using that bonus. Whichever creature wins this roll will move the marker one ticker closer to their victory condition. If the creature who won initiative succeeds on this contested roll at the center tick, then they will continue to have control over the duel, and may decide the bonus to use for the next challenge. However, if marker on the Duel Meter crosses over the central tick, then the creature who was previously not in control now gains control of the duel, and may decide the bonus to use for the next challenge. This process continues until the marker reaches one end of the Duel Meter, upon which the associated creature is declared the victor of the duel

Rounds

A duel is fought through a series of contested d20 rolls. In each round of the duel, the creature in control chooses an attribute with a bonus from their character sheet; this can include bonuses to ability scores, skills, saves, CMB, attack, and any other relevant bonus that can be added to a d20 roll. After the choice of a bonus is made, both creatures in the duel make a d20 roll and add their bonus to the roll. Whichever creature rolls highest wins the round and moves the marker on the Duel Meter one tick closer to their victory condition. The bonus used in a round cannot be used again afterwards (e.g. if the contested roll was in Acrobatics, then the Acrobatics skill cannot be used again for another contested roll in a future round). However, if all bonuses are exhausted from the character sheet of either creature, then the next contested roll is an initiative roll, and all bonuses are replenished and may be used again for future rounds.

If a creature succeeds on a roll of a natural 20, then they may move the marker two ticks rather than one.

Control

The creature who controls the duel determines which attribute to challenge the opposing creature to. The creature who wins the beginning initiative roll starts the duel with control. As long as the marker stays within their half of the Duel Meter, the associated creature continues to have control. If the marker crosses over the central tick of the Duel Meter and enters into the other creature’s half, then the other creature will gain control of the duel. 

A special case arises when the marker reaches the second to last tick of either end of the Duel Meter; the creature who is not in control of duel temporarily gains control for this round. After this round is resolved, control returns to the creature that originally possessed it.

Duel Meter

A Duel Meter indicates the progress of a duel. When a duel is initiated, it must be determined whether the fight will be a spar or to the death. If it is a spar, the Meter will be made up of 9 ticks. If it is to the death, the Meter will be made up of 13 ticks; these are general guidelines, and the tick count may be increased or decreased depending on the context.

All duels begin with a marker placed on the central tick of the Duel Meter. The marker moves left and right as the duel progresses, until reaching the final tick at either end of the meter; as soon as the marker is moved to a tick at the end of the duel, the duel is over and the associated victor is declared.