决斗

A duel is a combat outside of battle between two characters. Duels can last either until a character gets wounded or until death. Characters cannot duel if they are children, have the  Blind,  Incapable or  Pregnant trait or are both over 70 and have below 10  Prowess cannot duel.

Issuing a challenge

To start a duel a character must first issue a challenge. If the recipient refuses the challenge it loses 150  Prestige while the challenger gains 150  Prestige. Acceptance for a duel is determined by the difference in  Prowess as well as the recipient's  Opinion and personality. AI Rulers will never challenge someone with 15  Prowess more than them unless their Rationality is very low. There are two types of Duels:

• Single Combat is a duel issued by a character who has the Stalwart Leader perk against a Rival. The victor will lose Stress while the loser will gain Stress.
• Trial-by-Combat is a duel issued by a character of North Germanic culture group or Norman culture against someone of a similar culture who is guilty of a Crime and is neither their Liege nor Vassal. The challenger may choose to duel for either  Gold,  Stress,  Weak Hook or  Death. Trial-by-Combat requires the Northern Lords DLC.

Mechanics

Each duel has two values to keep track of:

• Likelihood of Success is a measure of who is currently dominating the duel. Almost all moves add Likelihood of Success, and the first character to get it a certain threshold above the opponent's wins.
• Risk of Injury is a measure of how overextended a character is. If at the end of a round the difference in Likelihood of Success is not high enough for a character to win each character has a chance to lose based on their Risk of Injury.

All duels last between 2 and 4 rounds. If after the final round there is no victor then the character with higher  Prowess will win. During a duel either character can gain or lose Duel Edge. Duel Edge will add or substract  Prowess to a character for the duration of the duel.

During each round both characters will choose one of three random combat moves. Higher  Prowess increases the chance of gaining more effective combat moves. Certain more effective combat moves have additional requirements and a 30% chance to appear in the place of a regular move if those requirements are met. AI characters will choose among the available moves based on their personality. Characters with high Boldness and Vengefulness will choose the option that offers the best Likelihood of Success. Characters with low Boldness and Vengefulness will choose the option that offers the least Risk of Injury. Characters with high Rationality will choose the middle ground. And characters without high or low Boldness, Vengefulness or Rationality will choose at random.

Combat Move	Likelihood of Success	Risk of Injury	Requirements	Other effects
Wait & Hope	Low	Medium	None
Unsure Attack	Medium	High	None
Enthusiastic Onslaught	High	Very High	None
Hail Mary	Very High	High	None
Clouded Vision	None	Low	None	Adds -4 Duel Edge to the opponent
Headbutt	Medium	High	None	Adds -4 Duel Edge to both opponents
Guard	Low	Low	None
Probing Attack	Medium	Medium	None
Onslaught	High	High	None
Put the Boot In	Very High	Very High	None
Surprise Attack	Random	Medium	None
Taunt	None	Medium	None	Opponent gains a  Stress Gain modifier
Strict Guard	Low	None	None
Confident Attack	Medium	Low	None
Expert Onslaught	High	Medium	None
Lightning Assault	Very High	High	None
Attempt Disarm	Low	Medium	None	Adds -6 Duel Edge to the opponent
Tire Opponent	Low	None	None	Increases the opponent's Risk of Injury
Disheartening Speech	None	Medium	At least 18 Diplomacy skill	Gives 5  Prestige per point of  Diplomacy
In Command	None	Low	At least 18 Martial skill	Adds -2 Duel Edge to the opponent it has the  Arrogant trait Adds -4 Duel Edge to the opponent it doesn't have the  Arrogant trait
Silvered Vision	Medium	None	At least 18 Stewardship skill At least 20 Gold Character is not Maimed	Costs 20  Gold
Like a Viper	High	Medium	At least 18 Intrigue skill	Increases the opponent's Risk of Injury
Legendary Technique	High	Low	At least 18 learning skill
Mocking Boast	None	None	Higher Prestige than the opponent Opponent is not Humble	Adds -2 Duel Edge to the opponent Opponent gains 40  Stress if it has the  Arrogant trait Opponent gains 20  Stress if it doesn't have the  Arrogant trait
An Unexpected Ally	Very High	None	Duel takes place in Africa, Persia, India or Burma Terrain is Farmlands, Floodplains, Jungle, Oasis or Wetlands	Can only appear once
Master of Terrain	High	Low	Any trait that gives a bonus in the current terrain	Adds +2 Duel Edge
Berserkergang	Very High	Medium	Berserker trait	Adds -20 Stress
Hard Grit	High	None	Shieldmaiden trait	Adds +4 Duel Edge
Feint & Stab	High	Medium	Hunter trait	Adds a +4  Intrigue modifier for 5 years
Butchery	High	Medium	Raider trait	Gives 2  Dread per every 2 points of  Prowess
Stoic Veteran	Medium	None	Varangian trait	Adds a  Health Boost modifier for 5 years
Blade Dance	High	Low	Blademaster trait	Gives 5  Prestige per point of  Prowess
Divine Wrath	Low	None	Zealous trait	Gives 10  Piety if opponent's Faith is considered Righteous Gives 25  Piety if opponent's Faith is considered Astray Gives 50  Piety if opponent's Faith is considered Hostile Gives 75  Piety if opponent's Faith is considered Evil
Fueled by Pain	Medium	Medium	Deviant trait	Adds +2 Duel Edge if character does not have the Severely Wounded or Brutally Mangled traits Adds +4 Duel Edge if character has the Severely Wounded trait Adds +8 Duel Edge if character has the Brutally Mangled trait
Something to Hide	None	None	Hook on the opponent Duel will not end in death	Adds +4 Duel Edge if holding a  Weak Hook on the opponent Adds +8 Duel Edge if holding a  Strong Hook on the opponent