Reading an Opponent’s Move

After both characters have set their attack pattern, but before they are revealed, one duelist can attempt to “read” the other’s moves. The duelists make an opposed Intelligence check. Whichever duelist wins has picked up on some telegraphed move by his opponent. If neither duelist makes a successful check, no pattern reading occurs. Alternatively, the duelist who holds initiative automatically gets to make a “read.”

In either case, the winner gets to ask about one aspect of his opponent’s pattern. He may choose to ask what kind of attack is coming, what kind of defense is being used, or the position of his opponent’s defense. Once this is done, the duelist who has made the read may adjust one aspect of his own pattern accordingly. If he chooses to change the position of his attack, then he may only adjust it by one space, either directionally or by one level.

Continuing our example, Eusebio wins an opposed Intelligence check and questions Darius’s player on the direction Darius intends to move defensively. Upon seeing how badly he miscalculated, Eusebio decides to adjust his attack from a leap back to a backpedal, reducing his penalty from a –6 to a –4. Alternatively, he could have chosen to change his attack style to a wild swing, gaining a +1 bonus to hit, but his final penalty would have been at –5.

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