[Martial Arts] Contest of Wills

[Mailanka]

Originally Posted by demonsbane

Interesting question. I'm tilted to think that the effect lasts for a second (in line with, for instance, Shock Penalties). It says "attacks", yes, but it's very possible that it's worded in that way for covering the possibility of the loser attacking with Rapid Strike", or having Extra Attack, etc . . .

Yeah, that's what I'm trying to figure out. On the one hand, "common sense" says that it would be the next attack (or all the attacks he makes on the next turn, in case there are more of them), but it's also kinda lame if you go through this long Regular Contest of Wills to gain the effect of a minor feint. Moreover, it looks like the results on the reaction table could end the fight right there, so perhaps it is the intention of the Contest of Wills that, should you lose it, the fight is essentially over for you. I mean, normally, if it's the next turn, this tends to be stated very clearly. Likewise, if something lasts for the duration of the combat, this tends to be stated clearly too (for example, if you fail to engage someone in a contest of wills, it explicitly states that you cannot try again for the remainder of the combat). For the penalty, it simply doesn't clarify one way or the other.

I think I'm leaning towards the latter for my game (for thematic purposes), though I'm hoping the hive mind has some additional insights that I might not have considered, or perhaps the author has just been dying to tell us about this (or it was resolved YEARS ago, and I just haven't been paying attention or what have you).