Duel of Wills (ToB Intimidate use)

[Seharvepernfan]

It seems like a neat mechanic, and represents the whole gunslinger/samurai staredown pretty well, but I can see it being used in damn near every combat. If a character has a low intimidate score, should they be subjected to these penalties all the time? It makes sense for someone to use it all the time if they have ranks in intimidate.

I considered only allowing it in combats that start after some sort of social confrontation, not just everytime two people turn a corner and almost bump in to each other or someone jumps somebody.

Thoughts?

[Lord Il Palazzo]

I don't think it's too bad. If you ignore an opponent's challenge, the worst that can happen is that they get a +1 bonus to hit you that only lasts 1 round. I doubt this will break anyone's game.

[Kaeso]

It seems like a neat mechanic, and represents the whole gunslinger/samurai staredown pretty well, but I can see it being used in damn near every combat. If a character has a low intimidate score, should they be subjected to these penalties all the time? It makes sense for someone to use it all the time if they have ranks in intimidate.

I considered only allowing it in combats that start after some sort of social confrontation, not just everytime two people turn a corner and almost bump in to each other or someone jumps somebody.

Thoughts?

Sounds legit. I always imagined the duel of wills as a kind of staredown in the initial phases of the duel, where neither party is completely sure whether they should attack or assume a defensive stance. This kind of thing won't happen in the chaos of a battlefield, and no assassin worth his salt will spend half a minute staring at his target. I can imagine a warblade kicking down a door in a dungeon and giving a group of monsters a good once-over though, just to show how much of a badass he is and doesn't give a damn.