Feint combat maneuver with margin of success of zero (foe fails)

[tbone]

Originally Posted by kirbwarrior

Minimum 1 is a really simple solution.

It is indeed. But another solution is this: Add some benefit to a feint in addition to "MoS* = AD penalty inflicted on foe". Do that, and success on a feint will at least yield that benefit, even if the GM handles MoS 0 as a big fat zero AD penalty.

*MoS or MoV, that is; feints are a little tricky in using both.

There are tons of ideas out there, and some in this thread, as plenty of players feel feints aren't worth the trouble. I'll point to my sole contribution in this area, noted here:

Whether or not your Feint succeeded (i.e., resulted in a defense penalty for the target), as long as your roll succeeded (even by 0), treat the action as a turn of Evaluate.

The concept: Whether or not successful as a feint, the action offers the feinter a chance to observe the foe's movements, test the foe's reactions, and maybe even leave the feinter in a better position for the next action. An Evaluate action, in effect, if not an automatic one (gotta have made that skill roll).

Which means: After a Feint, the usual AD penalty (if any) applies to the foe – and the feinter, if his roll succeeded, gets to claim a +1 TH bonus for Evaluate when making the subsequent attack. (Or the subsequent Feint, if the feinter is dissatisfied with the completed Feint yielding low or no AD penalty and wants to try again.)

So that's one idea for making Feint more appealing, even when MoS/MoV yields no sweet AD penalty. (It also helps remind players that Evaluate exists. : )

Tossing it out here for tinkerers to play with.