Those paste-eatin' magic-users say we don't like puzzles, they say we ain't
that smart, they say we got more brawn than brains. Let's see what we can do to
dis-SPELL those rumors...
You're a Crappy Magic-User by Mike Palumbo
So a fighter has a variety of...oh, I'm sorry. Did you think I was going to
talk about Magic-Users? No, I'm not
qualified. Jeremy Grayson (Nighthawk) once said I should write the Fighters
Guide to the Magic System, here it is:
When you hear a Magic-User cast a spell, say "What's that
do?" Then do what he tells you.
No, my intent here is not to talk about what it takes to be a Magic-User,
but rather how a great fighter is just a crappy Magic-User. Just go with it.
A fighter has a variety of skill-sets and tools at their disposal: Speed, Strength, Technique, and Footwork are just a few examples. These are not unlike the tools in a Magic-Users toolbox: Math, Pattern Recognition, Logical Process, etc.
As a fighter, you approach each opponent with your toolbox, and if you've seen this opponent before, you may have some information already, if not then you need to get some. The fighter uses his skills and tools to solve the puzzle of his opponent in much the same way a Magic-User tries to solve a questing puzzle. They start with the information gathering, what does it do when I do this, or this? How does it look, does it have long arms, a weak stance, does it follow a pattern? How fast does it react? Is it weak in the arms? And so on.
In both the case of the Fighter and the Magic-User, every tool in their toolbox is deployed selectively, meaning that you might have strength, but there will be times you let go. You might have speed, but there will be times you go slow. You might have a good defense, but there will be times you show a hole in it. You may be agressive, but at times you back off. let's look at a few concrete examples.
When a magic-user approaches a puzzle, it's nice to know how much they can try without risk. Very quickly they assess whether they can experiment with the puzzle and whether there is any risk in doing so. Will it blow up if they try something? No, okay then lets try stuff.
When a fighter faces off against an opponent, you have to quickly assess how much testing you can do. Is it one fight, winner lives on, is it best out of three or more, or just practice? In one fight, your experimenting can't be too risky. But in best out of three, you can try something risky in that first fight, just to see how it goes. If it fails, you still have two more fights to be conservative. If it doesn't, you are halfway to victory already, and can potentially use it again if your opponent doesn't adjust quickly. And even if you loose, seeing their first attack and subsequent moves can tell you a lot about how to solve the puzzle of beating them.
With just one fight, you can't be so risky, but you still need information. You engage in a series of low-risk tests to see how the opponent reacts. If you change your stance, do they adjust something? If you suddenly tense up and make like you are going to attack, do they react quickly? Where do they instincitively put their block, and do they move to counter attack? Which side does it come from? Do they block their eyes with their shield? Do they back off or get more aggressive?
Here's another example: Ever hear the expression, you have to know the rules to know when to break the rules? Well contrary to everything you've been taught about proper defense, there are times when you want to let your guard down. There are two ways this can be useful. The first is by opening a hole or presenting a juicy target for your opponent. When they strike at what they believe to be a mistake on your part, you counter with the appropriate counter attack. But in this case, you don't have to wait until you see the attack and where it's going. You know where it's going, because you gave it to them. You can initiate your counter as soon as you see them move to attack. Effectively, you know where they are going to go, before they actually get there.
The second way you can use a lax guard is in combination with moving in and out of range. Fighters, particular good fighters, know their range. They know exactly where the line is between, "I can hit you and you can hit me," and "we can't hit each other." Many fighters are so in tune with this line, that they set themselves when they find this place. By that I mean, they tense up, hunker down in their stance, and hold their weapons at the ready, game-face on and ready for combat. To the opponent this signals: This guy is ready for combat! And their reaction will be to set themselves as well. So rather than telegraph that you're ready to fight, let it be a surprise. Instead of finding that place and setting your body, try to be more fluid and more relaxed. Move in and out of range and don't set. At times it will make your opponent think you are not ready for combat, and by that I mean, you aren't likely to attack. The result is they are not ready to defend. If you can step into range without setting, and throw an attack while they subconciously think you aren't ready to, you might land that attack. Your opponent won't be completely off guard, just slightly off. Just enough to wonder why they aren't reacting fast enough.
The biggest most important factor in solving the puzzle is knowledge, knowing what's going to happen before it happens. If you know what they are going to do with their first attack, you can plan for it, and have a counter in mind. Whether you use logic, pattern recognition, or duplicty there's a word for that, it's called intelligence. The more you know about them and how they fight, the more you can employ the proper tool to win the fight.
So while it's true, for every tool or skill in your toolbox there are reasons to do the opposite, there is one skill for which that is never true. It might be necessary to play dumb, but it's never necessary to be dumb. Intelligence is the primary factor in solving the puzzle, and so I submit that fighters are simply crappy magic-users, in that they use the same primary skill, but produce no magic.