Feint

“Fake” a melee attack. You cannot
Feint someone unless you could have
hit him with a melee attack – that is,
your weapon is ready and your foe is
within reach. This maneuver is not an
attack, though, and does not make
your weapon unready.
When you Feint, roll a Quick
Contest of Melee Weapon skills with
your foe; if either of you is unarmed,
you may roll against an unarmed
combat skill instead. Your opponent
may opt to roll against Cloak or Shield
skill, if he is suitably equipped and this
would give him a better roll. If his DX
is better than his combat skills, he
may roll against DX instead.
If you fail your roll, your Feint is
unsuccessful. Likewise, if you suc-
ceed, but your foe succeeds by as
much as or more than you do, your
Feint fails.
If you make your roll, and your foe
fails, subtract your margin of success
from the foe’s active defense if you
attack him with Attack, All-Out
Attack, or Move and Attack on your
next turn. For instance, if your skill is
15 and you roll a 12, your foe defends
against you at -3 next turn.
If you and your foe both succeed,
but you succeed by more, subtract
your margin of victory from the foe’s
defense. For instance, if your skill is 15
and you roll a 10 (success by 5), and
your foe’s skill is 14 and he rolls 12
(success by 2), you win by 3, so he will
defend at -3 if your next maneuver is
to attack him.
You cannot Feint if your foe is
unable to observe you! However, if
your foe runs away, turns his back on
you, or loses sight of you in some way
after you successfully Feint, he will
still suffer his defense penalty if you
attack him on your next turn. If you
lose track of the foe, or cannot attack
him next turn, your foe’s defense
penalty vanishes.
A Feint is good for one second! But
if you Feint and then make an All-Out
Attack (Double), the feint applies to
both attacks.
In all cases, your allies cannot take
advantage of your Feint. The defense
penalty applies only to your next
attack.
Shield Feints:
After you have
attacked your foe once by striking
with your shield (see p. 406), you may
also Feint with your shield, rolling
against Shield skill.
Movement: Step.
Active Defense: Any. However, if you
Feint and then parry with an unbal-
anced weapon, you cannot attack on
your next turn, making your Feint
pointless.