You are using Bonetti's Defense against me, ah?

[SLOTHmaster]

Does anyone know a RPG that lets you emulate the swordfight in the Princess Bride?

 

[Knight Templar]

7th Sea does a decent job of it, as does the D20 game Skull & Bones.

 

[Razjah]

Burning Wheel can if your group makes up fighting styles, then you can use wises and other styles for advantage dice and as FoRKs (basically synergy skills). Plus it allows for player input on things like the Bonetti's Defense

"GM: The thief brandishes his sword at you.
Player: I bet he's using the Jackal Offense. I'll test my Jackal style-wise for an advantage die because I know the Hawk Feint to counter that."

The player gets more dice in his pool to roll for the combat.

 

[SkidAce]

"I thought it only fitting..."

 

[Taley]

I taught a fencing class for years and one of my older students told me about a game called En-Garde that did something like this. It's not the board game from the 90's, but an older rpg, though I never looked into it.

I'd maybe go with Burning Wheel.

Some of my fencing students I turned on to RPGs, and with real world combatants sitting around the table we made a lot of house ruled to better reflect how combat works. After getting bogged down with rules that tried to simulate combat as close as we could, we had to back way off to make the game fun again. The current rule set flows pretty smoothly while allowing plenty of options for the players.

 

[Summer-Knight925]

I've worked on a system myself that has a character option that allows you to use intelligence rather than strength or reflexes in melee.

Since you cannot represent all fighting styles, real world and fictional, it is best to just have some broad umbrella.

 

[Taley]

Yes! I am for this. One of the best fencers I ever took on was a 65 year old man with a bot-belly. He was amazing. He did not use Strength or Dexterity to beat me (cause he didn't have it anymore), but rather it was all Intelligence. That left a huge impression on me. Fencing is compared to chess for good reason.

Intelligence should give combat bonuses if you have the skill.

 

[radja]

having int or dex count for AC was one thing 4e really did right.

 

[Deset Gled]

Intelligence should give combat bonuses if you have the skill.

Intelligence should only give combat bonuses if you're in the right type of combat.

Sure, pure intelligence can win a fencing match, because fencing as a sport has consciously evolved to favor strategy over brute strength (flexible foils, touching to score points, etc). But when a giant smashes a two ton hammer down towards your head the only thing intelligence is going to help you with is determining which way to dive, and that's really more about choosing where you end up than deciding if you survive; no amount of smarts is going to save you if your legs don't move you fast enough to get out of the way. Most combats you face in RPGs fall somewhere between these two extremes.

IMNSHO, intelligence should only be used to help players gain a tactical advantage in situations where it makes sense. It could give foresight in where to move to get cover, how to gain slightly higher ground for an attack bonus, or where to place your feet to avoid terrain penalties (that would then be enforced on your opponent but not you). But using intelligence as a straight modifier to combat rolls is a poor, oversimplified mechanic. After all, Westley's intelligence was critical in his battle with Inigo, bit it was no where near as useful in his fight with Fezzik.

 

[Taley]

I'd like to think I'm using my Intelligence in all combats, but maybe that's not true. And I think Wesley did defeat Fezzik with Intelligence. He certainly wasn't stronger than the giant.

But, you are right that Intelligence combat modifier is over simplification and that's not what I meant. It plays a huge part in actual combat and that is tricky to reflect in a game mechanic.