my major point is to not downplay how difficult some of the subsystems can be for the uninitiated in The Burning Wheel.
I agree it takes some learning.the Burning Wheel scripted combat idea puts the whole system on its head - you literally write a script for how the fight will go for each character (including NPCs) and then try to play it out against each other.
That said, having run a few session of BW with my 4e group (some of whom are ex-Rolemaster, others ex-3E), I found that on the second exchange of our first ever Fight, the player who was fighting my zombies, and had a higher Reflex and hence more actions, took a gamble on action allocation and it paid off. Which is exciting (if you get into that kind of thing - not everyone is into simutaneous, blind-folded declaration). It's a bit like allocating OB vs DB in Rolemaster, but with more intricate options available.
In our second or third ever Duel of Wits, the player (with relatively poor skills on his PC) out-argued my elven sea captain (with relatively better skills) by clever scripting (the player had been working through a variety of possible scripts in his spare time, recognising that he would have to make do with relatively poor skills).
I'm not 100% sure what my point is, but it's probably something like this: there are at least some RPG players (and my group are among them) who are prepared to put in the effort to learn these relatively intricate systems, because it gives them a payoff that you don't get just from gambling (which is what Runequest gives you, in the end - once combat is joined it's just down to dice rolls).
Yes, but that's essential, because doing everything with Fight would be a nightmare! Bloody versus is relatively intuitive and quick to resolve.Moreover, this is just one option of three different combat systems in the book
That hasn't really been my experience (though maybe I'm not properly following your use of "spontaneous"). I certainly haven't found there to be "what do we do now" moments, because the players get cues pretty solidly off their PCs, plus the system supports building connections to NPCs that also keep things moving.It’s not spontaneous at all